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

A TV spot is like an advert you see on television for services or products. It has a story, actors and a message and it aims to convince the viewer of the benefits of the product or service the advertiser is promoting.

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 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.

A TV spot is like an advert you see on television for services or products. It has a story, actors and a message and it aims to convince the viewer of the benefits of the product or service the advertiser is promoting.

TV spots are the most common form of TV advertising. They are the adverts that we encounter at the beginning, middle and end of all our favourite shows, across linear TV and broadcast VOD.

According to the Story of Advertising by James Playsted Wood, the first known written ad in the history of advertising was found by archeologists in the ruins of Thebes, known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset. It was the papyrus created in 3000 BC on behalf of a slaveholder who was trying to find one of his slaves.

30 seconds The standard length of a TV ad is 30 seconds long and approximately half of all ads are 30 seconds. However, ads can also be 10, 20, 40, 50, 60 seconds or longer. Your ad needs to be a multiple of ten to fit into the ad break.

The world's first television commercial aired for the Bulova Watch Company. The ad was only 10 seconds long, cost between $4 and $9 to create, and was seen by about 4,000 people in New York.

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?

Spot advertising is the most commonly used form of paid-for-advertising on Commercial Radio. Spot airtime can be bought across different day parts and days of the week depending on the objectives of your campaign.

Why TV advertising? TV advertising is the most effective tool available to businesses pursuing greater market share, brand awareness and sales revenue. It allows brands to reach mass audiences and target specific viewing groups in a trusted environment that remains a fixture in our daily routines.