Did you know the first TV ad aired over 75 years ago? And it only cost $9.

In 1941, Bulova Watch Co paid $9 USD to show a branded watch ticking as a narrator simply stated what time it was; this was aired on WNBT (owned by NBC) during a Dodgers-Phillies game.

Before this, TV networks hadn’t permitted visual advertisements. As an alternative, announcers and broadcasters would read content from brands.

So in the spring of 1941, the FCC distributed commercial licenses to 10 US TV station and on July 1st, that Bulova ad made history as the first commercial to air, and was the only one to air on that particular day as well!

Today, even with advertising outlet competitors like social media, print and in-the-flesh experiential platforms, it can still cost thousands to air a national TV ad, millions if during an event like the Super Bowl, but let’s skip over that one for a second.

The other most expensive slots (so far)? Ad breaks for Sunday Night Football ($685,227), Thursday Night Football ($540,090) and This is Us ($359,413).

TV advertising for business definitely isn’t dead, even in the rise of social. (Frankly, we dislike when any platform is called dead unless it’s literally deleted and gone, like Meerkat).

But how can your brand get Facebook and TV advertising to work together?

Join our FEED list below and instantly receive our free guide on why Facebook and TV complement one another, complete with statistical proof points for how the two mesh so well together.

See you on the big tube! (And our phones too!)

Get your Facebook & TV Freebie

By the way, the most expensive Super Bowl slot has been $5.25 million, and it was 30 seconds long.