What's My Line? and To Tell the Truth (7/1/07)

[PYLW]

I was watching What's My Line?, and during the intro where Johnny Olson says what the show is brought to you by, GSN aired a commercial, and went back into the intro. Was What's My Line? ever sponsored by cigarettes, or is it something else that GSN can't show as a sponsor?

To Tell the Truth last night was an interesting episode from 1975 in the Garry Moore era. We saw a young Ally Sheedy (Who the first affadavit was about), talking about a book she had done.

[BrandonFG]

[quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'156534\' date=\'Jul 2 2007, 02:36 PM\']
I was watching What's My Line?, and during the intro where Johnny Olson says what the show is brought to you by, GSN aired a commercial, and went back into the intro. Was What's My Line? ever sponsored by cigarettes, or is it something else that GSN can't show as a sponsor?
[/quote]
I'm guessing this was a B&W episode? If so, then yeah, it probably was a cig sponsor. I know GSN removes any references to cig companies, and might even blur out the names nowadays, but would Johnny's plug count as an actual cig commercial, which of course, the FCC prohibits?

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'fostergray82\' post=\'156538\' date=\'Jul 2 2007, 01:57 PM\']
[quote name=\'PYLW\' post=\'156534\' date=\'Jul 2 2007, 02:36 PM\']
I was watching What's My Line?, and during the intro where Johnny Olson says what the show is brought to you by, GSN aired a commercial, and went back into the intro. Was What's My Line? ever sponsored by cigarettes, or is it something else that GSN can't show as a sponsor?
[/quote]
I'm guessing this was a B&W episode? If so, then yeah, it probably was a cig sponsor. I know GSN removes any references to cig companies, and might even blur out the names nowadays, but would Johnny's plug count as an actual cig commercial, which of course, the FCC prohibits?
[/quote]

What was the air date on "WML?"  If it's the last couple of years of the run, when they'd gone to all spot advertisers, it's very likely that a cigarette company may've been given a billboard by CBS for buying a lot of spots.  Until 1968, NBC still billboarded every advertiser, even if the show was all spots.  Of course, this was still in the era of 60-second commercials.

[PYLW]

[quote name=\'uncamark\' post=\'156601\' date=\'Jul 3 2007, 11:10 AM\'] What was the air date on "WML?" If it's the last couple of years of the run, when they'd gone to all spot advertisers, it's very likely that a cigarette company may've been given a billboard by CBS for buying a lot of spots. Until 1968, NBC still billboarded every advertiser, even if the show was all spots. Of course, this was still in the era of 60-second commercials. [/quote]

The airdate was 10/31/1965...your theory sounds very plausible. I can imagine how later in the show's run, it was harder to find just one weekly sponsor.

[Jimmy Owen]

The concept of only one advertiser per game show came crashing down after "Twenty-One."

[xavier45]

I found this episode that I taped a few years ago and this was indeed sponsered by a Cigarette company. The company was Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., makers of Kool cigarettes.

[PYLW]

[quote name=\'xavier45\' post=\'156612\' date=\'Jul 3 2007, 01:46 PM\'] I found this episode that I taped a few years ago and this was indeed sponsered by a Cigarette company. The company was Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., makers of Kool cigarettes. [/quote]

Wow, interesting.  I never knew What's My Line? was sponsored by a cigarette company at any point. Thanks for the clarification.