As mentioned in our Old-Time Radio: The Golden Years page, the first radio broadcasts of the human voice were made in the early 1900s. Early political broadcasts were heard by 1918. Radio broadcasting at that time was still an experimental/private undertaking, and remained so until 1920 when the first commercial stations with regularly scheduled broadcasts were heard.
Although commercial stations were broadcasting at this time, commercials (as we know them) were not allowed. The first commercial was broadcast in 1922. Today, we might call that broadcast an "infomercial", since it purportedly claimed to give information (rather than a direct sales pitch) about New York's Hawthorne Court apartment complex.
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Credits:
Text, images and soundbytes, courtesy of Danny Goodwin
| Anacin If you didn't have a headache before listening to this commercial, you might have one afterwards. |
Arrid If the war makes you nervous and your pits smelly, try this stuff to solve your husband's personal problems |
Beech-Nut Chewing Gum The flavor lasts a .. l - o - n - g .. time! |
Budweiser Gee, these guys were replaced by frogs! |
| Carter's Little Liver Pills Before they changed the name to "Carter's Pills" |
Contadina Tomato Paste The folks who put eight great tomatoes in that little bitty can. |
Dr. Lyons Tooth Powder Just like your dentist used to use. |
Energine Use Energine shoe whitener on your rationed shoes. (1943). |
| Halo Shampoo However, if you have no hair, suds your scalp with HALO |
Jello A sample of a program named after the sponsor. |
Northwest Orient Airlines I remember this one from "Music 'till Dawn", on chilly Chicago mornings. (Eventually, American Airlines sponsored that show) |
Old Spice This is still one of my favorite smell-goods! |
| Ovaltine The announcer on a 1940 Little Orphan Annie show takes three minutes to try to convince the kiddies to drink Ovaltine. |
Parkay Margerine The yellow stuff didn't say "butter, butter" in 1941. Instead, it was chock full of energy and vitamins. |
Perfect Circle Piston Rings Wow, what an inspiring commercial!  |
Pepsi-Cola 12 full ounces, thats a lot for a nickel! But why the "trickle, trickle, trickle, trickle" at the end? Was it served in a dribble glass? |
| Pepsodent Tooth Paste Did we really wonder where the yellow went? |
Philip Morris Cigarettes His name was "Johnny Roventini". Wore a red uniform and a funny-looking hat. |
Roi-Tan Cigars Man to man - smoke Roi-Tan, with Cuban tobacco. |
Wheaties Have you triiiied Wheaties? |
| Wildroot Creme-Oil Older guys, remember when you had hair? If so, you probably remember this stuff. |
Old-Time Radio Premiums Remember the special premium offers you heard on the radio as a kid? Check this page for a well-done summary, with soundbytes and images! |
| Don't forget to visit another OTR Commercials page - OTR Sponsors and Product Manufacturers, where you can try to remember some of the popular products of the past. |
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