Animated Television Commercials 1950's/60's

Tonight's Episode: Piels Beer; Nabisco, Gold Medal Flour; Old Spice and AC Spark Plugs

The television era of American animation was a period in the history of American animation that gradually started in the late 1950s with the decline of theatrical animated shorts and popularization of television animation, reached its peak during the 1970s, and ended around the mid-1980s.

This era was characterized by low budgets, limited animation, an emphasis on television over the theater, and the general perception of cartoons being primarily for children.

The 1950s were a "Golden Age" for animated TV commercials, exploding with new studios like UPA and Hanna-Barbera, who used playful, modern styles to sell everything from cereals (like Sugar Bear) to household goods, establishing cartoons as powerful marketing tools for diverse audiences, not just kids, and paving the way for television animation.

This era saw a shift from theatrical shorts to TV, introducing innovative techniques like xerography and creating a vibrant market for animators seeking work In the 1950s.

Piels had a very successful television advertising campaign when the Young & Rubicam ad agency created Bert and Harry Piel, the fictitious animated owners and pitchmen for the brewery. United Productions of America animated the spots, while the character voices were provided by the comedians Bob and Ray. Harry (Bob Elliott) was tall and soft-spoken, always calming down the short loudmouth Bert (Ray Goulding) whenever something went wrong.

The Bert and Harry commercials aired from December 1955 until 1960. In the 1960s, the brewery ran advertisements featuring New York City journalist

Jimmy Breslin. #animation #pielsbeer #GoldMedalFlour #OldSpice #ACSparkPlugs #tvcommercials

#televisioncommercials #IraGallen #BobElliott #RayGoulding