“Smothers Brothers Summer Show” Promo

"The art-house film culture of the 1950s spawned a yen for more sophisticated television commercials as well as commercial television. As a result, the political and social upheaval of the 1960s included a burst of creativity and a revolution within broadcasting. A new crop of viewers who were visually literate expected more from the small screen, and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, which premiered on CBS in 1967, epitomized this new attitude. There was a trend toward socially relevant programming at a point when countercultural resistance was being commodified, but the Smothers Brothers weren’t just along for the commercial ride: because of their antiwar stance they often found themselves in conflict with the network and its advertisers. This led to the show’s cancellation in 1969. Tom and Dick Smothers had a trendsetting following of anticonsumerist consumerists, however, so ABC gave them a shot the following year with the Smothers Brothers Summer Show. In this promo, upon being prompted by a voiceover announcer to 'say a few words about television,' the brothers respond by demonstrating a litany of new TV special effects, which they identify. These include solarization, keyhole matte, and spin, but finally escalate into more fantastical made-up effects, such as 'psychedelic,''flames,' and 'earthquake.' The piece was perfectly pitched to the savvy audience that the renegade brother act attracted."—Louise Sandhaus, Earthquakes, Mudslides, Fires & Riots: California and Graphic Design, 1936-1986, pp. 180