Prior to television, commercials used to be aired on the radio. Before radio, businesses used to advertise their wares in a variety of different ways, mostly through print media. Even before print media, metal signs depicting the nature of the product were produced.
Simply put for as long as there have been people in business, they have sought different ways to advertise their business. The purpose was to get more sales leads and generate more revenue for the business. And things haven’t really changed. Although advertising has come a long way, the nature of the reason for advertising has not changed since the days of the metal signs.
Radio commercials used to often feature jingles. The purpose of these jingles were to make the listener remember the product. Remember that people could not visualize the product back then, so they identified with the jingle. Commercial jingles were so popular, they were also later used in television advertising, although they seem to have lost their appeal.
Early radio advertisers were the sponsors of the radio program. They were short and sweet and people were forced to listen because they didn’t want to miss the next installment of their favorite radio show. Plus, back in those days, there was no remote control 
When television came out in the late 1940s, advertisers quickly saw this as a good media to sell their product. They began sponsoring certain television shows. They often found ways to not only sponsor by their frequent commercials, but also within the program itself. One example of this is the old “I Love Lucy” television program, probably one of the most popular sitcoms of all times.
It was sponsored by Phillip Morris. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz had stipulations in their contract that they had to often be seen smoking during the program. This is why Ricky was often seen coming out of his child’s bedroom with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
In return for their sponsorship, the program aired. People were treated to all sorts of commercials in black and white that would seem very amateurish to people today. Madison Avenue was always the place for the big “ad men.” It soon became apparent that in addition to designing clever ads for magazines and billboards, they had to film commercial ads. The needed actors and cameras, lights and sets.
Was it worth it?
There were those businesses who thought that television would never last. They balked at the idea of spending a lot more money to advertise on television. And they certainly didn’t want to pay to sponsor an entire program.
And the clue here is that most of those businesses have now gone out of business.
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