During the Golden Age of Radio, advertisers financed and controlled the programming. Advertising agencies helped sponsors integrate the advertising into the entertainment.
Here, radio stars debate in an advertising industry magazine how much creative control a sponsor or a star should have. Sponsors worried that stars would not focus on selling their products. How involved should entertainers be in the advertising?
Stars selling products on radio
In an episode of The Gibson Family, sponsored by Procter & Gamble, characters discuss the merits of Ivory Soap for facial complexions. This form of integrated advertising used the program characters to help smooth over the interruption of the commercial into the narrative.
Benton & Bowles produced the Maxwell House Show Boat musical variety program. Performers often took “coffee breaks” and extolled Maxwell House coffee. In this commercial, a dialogue between husband and wife about the merits of an iced coffee break help integrate the advertising into the entertainment.
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