The Robert R. Gitt Collection of Television Commercials At the Library
of Congress
Compiled by Karen C. Lund
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on Using This Guide | Suggested Reading
Introduction
The Robert R. Gitt Collection of television commercials consists
of 362 different commercials made during the early 1970's. The
collection also contains 7 public service announcements from the
American Dairy Association.
The commercials in the Gitt Collection offer a comprehensive
look at the consumer society in the U.S. during the early 1970's.
A wide variety of goods including personal and cosmetic products,
automobiles, foods, and medications are advertised. Almost a quarter
of the commercials in the collection advertise toys, games or dolls,
thus showing the large market for children's items. These commercials
also offer the opportunity to see famous faces, as when a commercial
would feature a famous spokesperson. This information has been
identified in the note area for each entry. Occasionally, a performer
appeared in a commercial before he or she became famous. When such
an instance has been identified, it is listed in the note area
as "[Actor's name] appears."
These commercials, as with other films and videotapes in the
Library's collections, are not available for loan, but may be viewed
at the Library by researchers by advance appointment. For further
information, consult GUIDELINES FOR VIEWING FILMS AND VIDEOTAPES
or contact: Reference Librarian; Motion Picture, Broadcasting and
Recorded Sound Division; Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540;
telephone: (202) 707-8572; fax: (202) 707-2371.
Copying of the films and videocassettes in the Library's collections
depends on copyright and donor restrictions. For more information,
consult GUIDELINES FOR REQUESTS TO COPY FILM AND VIDEOTAPES or
contact: Public Service Office; Motion Picture, Broadcasting and
Recorded Sound Division; Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540;
telephone: (202) 707-5623 or -0246; fax: (202) 707-2371.
The Library of Congress also has other television commercials
in its collections. Many are listed in the older manual card files.
They are listed under the name of the sponsor and are not brought
together as a genre.
Since about 1987, commercials have been cataloged on the Library's
MUMS computer system. On MUMS, commercials are listed with the
generic term "television commercial" followed by the sponsor and
commercial title, if known. MUMS can be accessed by computer in
a variety of ways. It is available through the Library of Congress
Information System at the following Telnet addresses: LOCIS.LOC.GOV
or 140.147.254.3. It is also available through the LC Marvel Campus-Wide
Information System when the following series of headings are chosen
in order:
- Library of Congress Online Systems
- **** Connect to LOCIS (Public Users--No Password Needed)
- Library of Congress Catalog (Option 1 under LOCIS: Library
of Congress Information System)
- Select Any One of Choices 1, 3, 4, or 5
Once users have entered any one of the last four choices, they
can start searching MUMS for television commercials.*
In addition, several finding aids list television commercial
collections at the Library and are available from the reference
librarian in the Motion Picture and Television Reading Room. These
include the Karr Collection, the Karr Collection of Public Service
Announcements, and the Dartmouth College Collection. These are
accessible via Internet through the LC Marvel Campus- Wide Information
System.
*Thanks to Stephen Kharfen for providing the information on accessing
the on- line systems.
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The title listed for each commercial was taken from information
written on the film box or on the film itself. Where there was
no title written on the film, a title was supplied for it, and
this is indicated in the entry. The brand name listed has been
taken from the product as shown on screen in most cases.
For most of these films, additional information, such as production
numbers or other titles, was written on the film. This information
has been put into the note area. The absence of notes indicates
that there was nothing written on the film or film box. Pertinent
information, such as whether a commercial is animated and if a
spokesperson or famous person appears, can also be found in the
note area.
Some of the commercials have additional copies available. This
is listed in the entry for each commercial. Additional copies of
any commercial can be assumed to be the same as copy 1 if no notes
indicate other information.
The format for each entry in the guide is as follows:
Product / Company
Title of commercial Shelf no.
Physical information about the reel
Product type
Supplied title (when applicable)
Notes: whether it is animated, if it features a spokesperson or if a
famous person appears, pertinent information about the commercial,
production numbers and information written on the film, whether it is on
a reel with other commercials
Copy 2: shelf no., followed by notes pertaining to copy 2 (if there are
no notes, it can be assumed that there is no difference between copy 1
and copy 2); other copies
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Hall, Jim. MIGHTY MINUTES: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF TELEVISION'S BEST
COMMERCIALS. New York: Harmony Books, 1984.
Himmelstein, Hal. "Advertising: The Medium is the Mirage," in TELEVISION
MYTH AND THE AMERICAN MIND. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1984.
McMahan, Harry Wayne. COMMUNICATION & PERSUASION: A HARD LOOK AT
$UCCE$$FUL
TV COMMERCIALS. Baja California: The Stephens Press, 1980.
Price, Jonathan. THE BEST THING ON TV: COMMERCIALS. New York: The Viking
Press, 1978.
Wright, John W., ed. THE COMMERCIAL CONNECTION: ADVERTISING AND THE
AMERICAN
MASS MEDIA. New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1979.
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