Copies of commercials received as copyright deposits can be searched in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. The titles of the commercials begin with the generic term, "[Television commercial–]," and continue with the name of the product or sponsor and, in some cases, the title of the commercial, if known.

AdViews is a digital archive of thousands of vintage television commercials dating from the 1950s to the 1980s.

1941: First legal We'll now discuss the first-ever recognised television commercial. To do so, we must return to July 1st, 1941, in New York City. The WNBT (now WNBC channel four) broadcasted an advert for the watchmaker Bulova, before a baseball game.

The first TV ad was aired in July 1941 during a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The ad was for Bulova watches, and it lasted for just over a minute. This was the first time that people were able to see a commercial on their television sets.

The world's longest running TV commercial is the Discount Tire Company's Thank you commercial, produced by Swartwout Productions (Arizona, USA) and first aired in 1975. The same commercial has been aired continuously every year in parts of the USA.

The first TV ad was aired in July 1941 during a baseball game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. The ad was for Bulova watches, and it lasted for just over a minute. This was the first time that people were able to see a commercial on their television sets.

TV's Most Memorable Commercials

• 1959: The First Ever Barbie Commercial.
• 1965: The Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle.
• 1970: Tootsie Roll Tootsie Roll Pop.
• 1971: Coca-Cola “Hilltop”
• 1971: Keep America Beautiful's “Crying Indian”
• 1971: Life Cereal “Three Brothers”
• 1979: Coca-Cola “Mean Joe Greene”
• 1984: Apple Computer “1984”

Fentimans creates world's longest advert with an 168-hour film. Fentimans has created the world's longest advert as part of an integrated campaign designed to celebrate the brand's slow but unique botanic brewing process.

Bulova watches The world's first television commercial aired on July 1, 1941, The advertisement was for Bulova watches and was aired before the beginning of a baseball game in New York. The world's first ad was only 10 seconds long and cost the company a total of $9 (Rs 670).

Old Spice's Inception-style TV ad is the longest ever at 14 hours - and will run forever online. If you have a product which lasts "forever" then what's the most appropriate way to advertise it? Well, how about with a commercial that will also never end?

July 1st, 1941 The Birth of TV Advertising The money was in selling TV sets. But once most homes had one, the model had to pivot. The first TV ad ran on July 1st, 1941, before a game between the then-Brooklyn Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies.