And now a word from our sponsor: Exhibit puts spots before our eyes

Life cereal's Mikey

From Brylcreem’s “A Little Dab’ll Do Ya” to Life cereal's Mikey (pictured above) to the Geico gecko, the history of television commercials spanning more than six decades is the subject of a fascinating new online exhibit by Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications.

Debuting Wednesday on museum.tv, “We’ll Be Right Back: 60 Years of Television Commercials” chronicles the growth of TV advertising, showcasing more than 100 ads notable for being creative, innovative, effective or otherwise groundbreaking. Bruce DuMont, founder and president of the museum, said the exhibit “celebrates and preserves our rich television heritage and supports the museum’s educational mission.”

Organized by decade (from “The Cool ’50s” to “The 2K’s”) and by genre (from “Super Bowl” to “Chicago Classics”), each section includes an authoritative essay that provides historical context to the featured commercials. Additional sections also cover product placement, political advertising and public service announcements.

Curator of the exhibit is David Plier, vice president of the museum’s board and CEO of the ad agency Retail First Corporation. “From the beginning, brand sponsorship of television programs was the foundation by which content was produced,” he said. “Providing a decade-by-decade narrative clearly demonstrates the role advertisers played in the growth of the media.”