It's Not TV, It's PBS

The Best Commercials are on the Non-commercial Networks

There was a time when sponsoring a program on PBS meant you got your logo onscreen while a very PBS-sounding guy said something very generic like, "Broadcast of this program is made possible by a generous contribution from Megacorp." They've since relaxed those rules and now sponsors are allowed to create nice little spots. But they still aren't allowed to create out-and-out shills with blatant calls-to-action. One might argue that agencies do better work when those restrictions are in place. Case in point: these two Liberty Mutual spots running during the PBS show "American Experience." They certainly beat the Liberty Mutual commercials with the do-gooder people all helping each other in a pay-it-forward let's love one another faux feel-good world.





Agency: Hill Holliday