U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for July 1: First TV Commercial

U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for July 1: First TV Commercial

WASHINGTON, July 1, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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FIRST TV COMMERCIAL

Profile America -- Friday, July 1st. "America runs on Bulova time." That declaration was the entire audio portion of the first advertisement appearing on a commercial television station. The rather subdued ad was broadcast on New York station WBNT on this date in 1941, the first TV ad with the sanction of the Federal Communications Commission. The 10-second spot appeared in a Brooklyn Dodgers game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Consisting of nothing more than the image of a ticking clock, the ad cost Bulova just $9. TV commercials have grown vastly more sophisticated since the 1941 experiment. Creating new commercials contributes to the $60 billion in annual revenue earned by the nation's 14,000 video and motion picture production outlets. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 2341
Robertson's Book of Firsts/page 460:
Bulova: http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/history-advertising-no-112-worlds-first-tv-commercial/1320425
MoPic & video production/NAICSA 51211:
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~51211
Revenue/NAICS 51211: http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/00A1//naics~51211

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu).

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110428/DC91889LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
U.S. Census Bureau

CONTACT: Rick Reed, 301-763-2812; or e-mail: richard.thomas.reed-at-census.gov

Web Site: http://www.census.gov


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