TV Commercials

TV Commercials are an intrinsic component of our popular culture. Our advertising reflects and records the collective sense of humor, fashion, trends, politics...they parody modern life and preserve images of our institutions. The best ads trancend advertising and become part of our language for a time and the worst are like nagging mosquitos in your ear.

I created this lens to celebrate this important component of our pop-cultural heritage. Seeing some of the classic older spots is like seeing an old friend that you have missed for a long time...seeing others is a painful reminder of just how bizzare it was to live in these united states at certain points throughout the 20th century.

Our advertising heritage provides time travel to worlds of different styles, art, cultural attitudes..."You've come a long way baby," perhaps...but we still have a long way to go.

This page points to some of the best places on the web to see new, old, good, weird, great and historically significant TV advertising and viral video. You will also find links to organizations and publications that can help you find out more about the TV commercial production industry.

Happy Viewing.

TV commercials on the web

Great sites on the web containing humorous, innovative and clever broadcast advertising.

Very Funny Ads: Watch the cleverest commercials online
TV Commercial Directory: Online TV Commercial Guide
AdCritic: Comprehensive library of online TV commercials.
Classic TV Ads: Older TV spots
AdBlog: Three new commercials from around the world every day.
Google Commercial Directory: Commercial Links from Google
US TV Ads: Spots from US TV Ads.com
Clip Land: TV Spots and Short Form Media
Superbowl Ads: Archives of Superbowl commercials indexed by year.
TV Commercials Now: Some good spots to see here at this older site.
Coca Cola/Library of Congress: Historical Archive of Coca Cola spots along with detailed historical information. Located in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division of the Library of Congress. Very nice.
RetroJunk: Nice collection of spots from the 70s, 80s and 90s indexed by product type. Interesting peeks at fashion, unusual products and outmoded ideas.
Absolutely Andy Adverts: Collection of Andy Savage's favourite spots from the UK and around the world. Worth a look.
Vintage Appliance Commercials: The video archive from automaticwasher.org features vintage tv spots and demonstration film of appliances. Everything from real classic to real weird.
Advertisement Ave.: Large collection of commercials from the past 15 years or so. Site carries many current spots as well.
AV Geeks Collection: Not TV commercials at all. These films do, however, serve as cultural time-capsules. This collection consists of "mental hygiene" and social issue films produced from 1940-1980.
Belair Cigarette Spots: Compilation of Belair cigarette television commercials.
Drive-In Movie Ads: Slightly off-topic yet facinating motion picture ads.
Visit4info Commercials: Collection of spots and other motion advertising media.
UC Berkeley Moffit Library: Collection of historical tv programs, complete with commercials. Site also contains documentaries on media, radio programming and pop culture. There is a lot of good stuff to see here.
Living Room Candidate: Fantastic site with political TV spots from presidential campaigns 1952-2004. Detailed background and historical information is provided for each spot. Good site for historians and advertising buffs alike.
AdAge Online Ads: Online hotlist of current spots. A very helpful resource.
The Video Vault: Fairly large collection of comedic spots.
Spot archive at onlyinhouston.com: This gallery is small in size but high in quality. Some great spots here. One of my favorites is for the L.A. County Fair.
Zenfilm Spots on Vimeo: Spots created by my company, Zenfilm.
AdWeek Best Spots of The Month: AdWeek Magazine's spot of the month competition winners. Both current winners and past winners dating back 3 years can be found on this page. Lots of good advertising, a good place to find current favorites.
Vintage Commercial Compilation on Google Video: Some real classics here from the '60s and '70s.
Vintage Toy Commercials LikeTV.com: Like has clunky navigation but it has some really nice finds. The site also features vintage TV programs and a variety of other topics.

Commercial Filmmakers

Producers and Production Services

Zenfilm: Film+HD Production, Direction, Design and Editorial for Ad Agencies and Brands. Award-winning directors and postproduction artists. Reel Enlightenment.
VisualNet: The International FILM, TV & AD Production Directory
Sugar Film Production: Innovative Dallas-based commercial shop.
The Shoot Directory: Shoot Magazine's directory of commercial production companies. A leading industry resource.
Yvette Represents: West Coast commercial directors representation firm that reps some of the finest commercial directors, post-production artists and music composers.
wheresspot.com: Online resource for the commercial production community. Find producers, directors, post houses..everything.

Professional Organizations

For Commercial Film Production & Advertising

The AICP: The Association of Independent Commercial Producers. Founded in 1972, by a small group of television commercial production companies concerned with a single issue, today's AICP has grown to represent exclusively, the interests of United States companies that specialize in producing commercials on various media - film, video, computer - for advertisers and agencies. AICP members account for 85 percent of all domestic commercials aired nationally, whether produced for traditional broadcast channels or non-traditional use.
American Advertising Federation: As the "Unifying Voice for Advertising," the American Advertising Federation (AAF), headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the trade association that represents 50,000 professionals in the advertising industry. AAF's 130 corporate members are advertisers, agencies and media companies that comprise the nation's leading brands and corporations. AAF has a national network of 210 ad clubs and connects the industry with an academic base through its 210 college chapters.
Texas Motion Picture Alliance: The Texas Motion Picture Alliance serves as a proactive advocate for film, video, interactive, and digital media production professionals and represents those citizens before legislative, regulatory, and judicial bodies. Through its programs and activities, the Alliance is committed to building a strong community of these professionals; seeks economic and creative incentives for producers of all such media both from within and outside of the state of Texas; and educates its members and the general public regarding these businesses overall.
Only in Houston: Only in Houston represent the collective interests of the creative community in America's 4th largest city. Here you will find a vast collection of creative resources for commercial production and media creation and design.