The online exhibit features MBC’s archives of more than 10,000 commercials and nearly 100,000 hours of content. “We’ll be Right Back: 60 years of Television Commercials” spans more than six decades, and showcases more than 100 of the best television commercials from the 1940s through today.

“We’re very excited about the debut of this online exhibit that both celebrates and preserves our rich television heritage and supports the Museum’s educational mission,” said Bruce DuMont, President and Founder of the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

“Television programming and advertising are mirrors that reflect popular culture. Preserving our television heritage is a way of preserving our past, and offers future generations the chance to experience that culture in a very real way.”

The online exhibit features classic spots from brands such as Tootsie Roll Pops, Chevrolet, Texaco, Tang, Life Cereal, McDonalds, Alka Seltzer, Dunkin Donuts, Coca Cola, Budweiser, American Express, Lexus, Gillette, Apple, Target and others. It also offers a look at Super Bowl advertising featuring the most memorable spots from 1969 to 2010, Political advertising, Infomercials, Public Service Announcements and examples of Product Placement on programs like “I Love Lucy” and “Modern Family.”

Each section features links that let visitors watch classic commercials and editorial that provides a brief history of the era or genre and helps visitors put the content they view in context with the times.

“From the beginning, brand sponsorship of television programs was the foundation by which content was produced… providing a decade by decade narrative clearly demonstrates the role advertisers played in the growth of the media,” says David Plier, Vice President of the Board of Directors for the MBC, CEO of advertising agency Retail First Corporation and curator of the online exhibit.
 

The site is scheduled to launch in early 2008, according to Bonnie Hammer, president, USA Network and the Sci Fi Channel.

"Didja.com is the logical next step in the changing dynamic between consumers and advertisers," said Hammer.

"There’s no doubt that commercials are major drivers of pop culture – all you have to do is check out traffic on any video-sharing site. We want to own that watercooler conversation and become the go-to destination for on-demand advertising content."

Didja.com provides commercial viewing using NBC Universal’s video player. Using the sites social networking features visitors to the site will be able to rate, vote, comment and interact with commercials. Its mashup toolkit will allow users to create brand interpretations, tributes and parodies.

Advertisers will be able to customize their brands on the site. Contents uploaded remotely through an interface where advertisers will have the option to enable social networking features and set timers to remove content at a later date.

"Didja.com is an exceptional opportunity for advertisers to interact with an engaged audience and extend their marketing budgets online," said Michael Pilot, president, NBCU Ad Sales. "

"Ads that once aired exclusively on television can now live on Didja.com. Additionally, NBCU’s clients will benefit from Didja.com’s research capabilities, including virtual focus groups, behavioral targeting, and data mining."