¿What is advertising cinema?

In a nutshell, a commercial film is a brief and concise cinematic piece typically lasting between ten and sixty seconds. Its primary purpose is to capture attention toward a product, brand, or service, with the goal of boosting sales. Unlike a documentary, it does not focus on providing detailed information.

The ideal choice is to entrust the creation of commercial films to an experienced film production company. This ensures that all dramatic and audiovisual tools are leveraged to achieve maximum impact—whether on the big screen, television, or social media platforms.

Commercial films consistently reflect prevailing social structures and trends, and it is precisely this quality that makes their history so captivating.

A Bit of Global History

Although commercial films are as old as cinema itself, it was the widespread adoption of national television that gave them the reach necessary to influence markets and drive sales. Over time, both the narrative and content of commercial films have evolved naturally and necessarily.

In the 1950s, television gave commercial filmmaking a mass audience—a pivotal milestone in its evolution. While it's true that the historically first televised commercial film didn’t fit the modern definition of a commercial—due to its lengthy duration—it was first shown on November 5, 1931, at a hairdressing fair in London and broadcast on television.

However, the date more commonly accepted as the true starting point of televised commercials—especially in German-speaking countries—is November 3, 1956. That’s when Persil aired its first detergent advertisement on TV. This timing coincided with the economic boom generation—consumers ready to spend—and one in which virtually every household would soon own a television set.

Throughout the 1960s, supply and demand for products initially reached equilibrium. By the early 1970s, demand had expanded to a much broader range of consumers.

In this context, commercial filmmaking began to be used specifically to differentiate companies from their competitors, aiming to reach defined target groups. Advertising agencies and film production companies developed new creative methods to give brands and products recognizable value and an appealing image. Jingles and slogans conquered screens along with advertising characters and brand faces.

Driven by these successes, more and more companies began investing increasingly larger sums into the production of commercial films.

The 1980s–1990s: The Search for a Distinctive Element

As competition increased and commercial films flooded the market, the 1980s saw a quest for distinctive features.

The “Distinctive Element,” known as the Unique Selling Proposition (USP), became the cornerstone of marketing. In commercial films, this single element that sets a product or service apart from competitors took on major importance.

Successfully introducing new products to saturated markets required surprising, curious, or simply entertaining or intriguing messages—preferably communicated through commercial films.

Apple achieved a milestone with its iconic “1984” ad. In a scene evoking George Orwell’s dystopia, a woman smashes a giant screen controlled by “Big Brother” with a hammer, wearing a shirt featuring the first Macintosh computer.

The voice-over begins: “Today we introduce the Apple Macintosh computer— and you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like George Orwell imagined ‘1984.’”

Beginning in 2000: A Growing Disenchantment with Advertising

Through this standout piece, Apple and Steve Jobs anticipated a trend that began in the 1990s and reached a preliminary peak in 2000: product advertising increasingly being perceived as annoying.

Whereas commercial films were once cult-status events, today there is a steady growth in dislike and aversion toward them. The industry has taken note and is now focusing on non-intrusive advertising.

Just as Apple did, the focus shifted from the product itself to storytelling—short narratives or the trust conveyed by celebrity testimonials.

2010: Social Media & Content Marketing Redefine Advertising

With the expansion of the internet and the arrival of platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat—alongside the growth of social media—a true revolution took place.

The traditional push marketing approach became obsolete, replaced by content marketing, especially video content marketing, aimed at offering tangible value to potential customers. Principles like sustainability and environmental protection began shaping purchase decisions among consumers who could be meticulously defined and analyzed using algorithms and user data.

The art of crafting a truly effective commercial lies in intelligently translating available data and user profiles into an emotional message that resonates and stays in the audience’s memory—tailored specifically to the target group.

CONCLUSIÓN:

As its powerful history demonstrates, commercial film pieces always reflect society while simultaneously projecting its image.

If you aim to launch a successful commercial film in Peru, it’s not enough to work with a production company that has strong technical capabilities; it’s also essential that they deeply understand your target audience.

Let’s make it happen.

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Bonus Feature

Spanish director Dácil Manrique, alongside Juan José Solórzano, discusses the challenges in directing commercial film and how cinema is consumed today. Organized by the School of Cinema and Visual Arts: cine.ufm.edu