The fact that I could see an eyewitness to that event was overshadowed by the huge cigarette ads. It reminds me of the current state of online ads, only it's huge banners for electronic cigarettes instead.
i'm currently reading the master switch (http://amzn.to/qvgGrx) which talks about how early radio and tv were forbidden to have commercials because they were supposed to be public services, but that programs could be sponsored like you see in the video. in early radio, companies weren't allowed to directly mention their products, so for example, gillette's first radio ad was a lecture on the history of beards.
after seeing that video, i much prefer commercials to that style of sponsored programming. when a commercial comes on, you can get up and do something else, change the channel, or mute it. with sponsored programs, everything is so integrated that it makes it hard to ignore.
