Television is now the largest advertiser friendly medium in the world and the evolution of video commercials is a fascinating journey. Interestingly, over a period of time the themes of video commercials have shifted from being product centric, to themes that are designed to attract the attention of the audience first and display the product later. Today, a video commercial is expected to be more than just a video displaying the various products that an organization has to offer.



To discuss the evolution of video commercials it is important to know how it all started. In 1941, The Bulova Watch Company paid WNBC (then WNBT) $9 to display the first video commercial on television. The Bulova commercial was an instant success and it was only a matter of time before other video commercials started making an appearance on television. As expected, video commercials evolved and started using custom audio tracks (popularly known as ?jingles?). One of the most popular jingles till date is that of the Coco Cola company, the jingle is now synonymous with their flagship product Coke. With time, the value of advertising slots has gone up and a 30 second prime time slot can cost close to $2.6 million.

Like television and films, video commercials have also benefited from advances in cinematography. It is common for video commercials to display complex CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) and animations. Over the years, there have been numerous video commercials that have received acclaim, but some of the most popular video commercials have a central theme or character. A good example of commercials with a central character are Energizer commercials, Energizer commercials have a pink bunny with an Energizer battery powering the toy. The first video commercial with the Energizer bunny appeared in the year 1989 and Energizer bunny has been making appearances in video commercials for the past 17 years.

In 2003, a Honda Accord commercial nicknamed ?The Cog? was aired. The commercial showed a single transmission bearing putting into motion the series of events that usually take place when the ignition key of a car is turned. It took 606 takes to make the commercial and two pre-manufacture Honda Accords were dismantled to complete the commercial. What ?The Cog? did was signal a new era of ?out of the box? video commercials. ?The Cog? is still one of the most viewed/downloaded video commercials in the world and the UK based firm Wieden+Kennedy is believed to have charged nearly $2 million for shooting ?The Cog?.

Today, a video commercial is no longer just an advertising exercise, video commercials are designed to catch the audience's attention and provide valuable insight into a product or company. With so many themes to choose from, video commercials offer a complete advertising experience that print media cannot provide. From catchy tunes to stunning visuals, video commercials have much more to offer in terms of entertainment and market penetration. Contrary to popular belief, not all video commercials cost millions and even small and medium enterprises can now afford video commercials.