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Live performance was another important characteristic of early commercials.
Videotape was not in use and filming took considerable advanced planning. Both the

shows and the commercials were live and many were performed before studio

audiences. In a 1952 episode of I Love Lucy,7 the audience gets a behind-the-scenes
look at how these early commercials were performed. TV cameras of that era were

large contraptions and a stage set might have as few as two of them. During the show,
one of the cameras would be wheeled over to the side of the stage where a live

presenter would pitch the sponsor's product often with demonstrations or other visual

aids.

Any scheme purporting to encompass the various formats of local and national
TV commercials will surely overlook some of the possibilities because the variety is

so complex. Nonetheless, the following list provides a guide to some of the most
frequent and enduring types of commercial presentations.

Animation. The movies popularized cartoon animation in shorts and
feature-length films long before the advent of television commercials. However, the

familiar form was easily adapted for use in filmed commercials and continues to be
used, even today. Computer graphics and complex animation techniques (such as

those used in Avatar) make their way quickly into the commercial mix as soon as they

become available.

Contemporary TV commercials have indeed come a long way from these early
depictions. It is possible only now to see the diversity of consumers in the world

according to advertising. For example, the following TV commercials from 2010

illustrate the contemporary standards for representing gender and ethnicity.

Although the TV commercial remains an important part of the marketing mix,
it is no longer as preeminent as it was for the latter half of the 20th century. New

media .Internet banners, interactive advertising, social media, and so on .vie with TV
for consumers' attention. Whatever its future, there is no denying the important roles

that commercials have played in promoting certain lifestyles and values as well as

marketing.
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