Television advertisement

A television advertisement or television commercial or ad-film is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message. Advertisement revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately owned television networks. 

The vast majority of television advertisements today consist of brief advertising spots, ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes Advertisements of this sort have been used to sell every product imaginable over the years, from household products to goods and services, to political campaigns.

The effect of television advertisements upon the viewing public has been so successful and so pervasive that in some countries, like the United States, it is considered impossible for a politician to wage a successful election campaign without the purchase of television advertising. 

In other countries, such as France, political advertising is strictly limited on television and some, like Norway, even completely ban it. Some of these ad jingles or catch-phrases may take on lives of their own that may appear in other forms of mediator in written media, such as magazine comics or literature.