Russian TV Commercials: The Short Course, Lecture Six – Tampax Comes to Russia (and Jumps the Shark)



Join us for a series of lectures by NYU Professor Eliot Borenstein about the joys and sorrows of Russian and Soviet television advertising. These informal lectures are geared towards students, scholars, and anyone who might be interested in the topic. And yes, we take requests. The series runs weekly on Fridays.

Lecture Six – Tampax Comes to Russia (and Jumps the Shark)

In the 1990s, commercials for feminine hygiene, one of the most neglected consumer product segments in the USSR, became a prominent feature of the Russian airwaves.  How did the culture make room for what had so long been taboo?

Watch the event recording on YouTube here.


Russian TV Commercials: The Short Course, Lecture Five – “Bank Imperial”: The Great Man Theory of History and Finance



Join us for a series of lectures by NYU Professor Eliot Borenstein about the joys and sorrows of Russian and Soviet television advertising. These informal lectures are geared towards students, scholars, and anyone who might be interested in the topic. And yes, we take requests. The series will run weekly on Fridays.

Lecture Five – “Bank Imperial”: The Great Man Theory of History and Finance

Why isn’t Count Suvorov eating anything? What does Genghis Khan think is man’s greatest pleasure? And what on earth does this have to do with banking?

Watch the event recording on YouTube here.


Russian TV Commercials: The Short Course, Lecture Four – MMM: Marketing the Pyramid Scheme


Join us for a series of lectures by NYU Professor Eliot Borenstein about the joys and sorrows of Russian and Soviet television advertising. These informal lectures are geared towards students, scholars, and anyone who might be interested in the topic. And yes, we take requests. The series will run weekly on Fridays.

Lecture Four – MMM: Marketing the Pyramid Scheme

The infamous MMM pyramid scheme flooded the airwaves in 1994, reeling in viewers with a series of commercials that cashed in on the craze for soap operas. Has shameless fraud ever been this entertaining?

This event will be held virtually as a Zoom meeting


Russian TV Commercials: The Short Course, Lecture Three – Snickers: The Milk Chocolate Invader from Mars©


Join us for a series of lectures by NYU Professor Eliot Borenstein about the joys and sorrows of Russian and Soviet television advertising. These informal lectures are geared towards students, scholars, and anyone who might be interested in the topic. And yes, we take requests. The series will run weekly on Fridays.

Lecture Three – Snickers: The Milk Chocolate Invader from Mars©

When Snickers came to Russia, it was not just a chocolate bar; it was a verb. But what did it mean?

Watch the event recording on YouTube


Russian TV Commercials: The Short Course, Lecture Two – Late Soviet Commercials and the Art of Bad Taste



Join us for a series of lectures by NYU Professor Eliot Borenstein about the joys and sorrows of Russian and Soviet television advertising. These informal lectures are geared towards students, scholars, and anyone who might be interested in the topic. And yes, we take requests. The series will run weekly on Fridays.

Lecture Two – Late Soviet Commercials and the Art of Bad Taste

Imagine TV commercials produced with a sensibility halfway between David Lynch and John Waters, and you have the cult classic commercials of Estonian Director Harry Egipt.

Watch the recording on YouTube here.


Russian TV Commercials: The Short Course, Lecture One – Soviet Commercials: Keeping Up with the Dzhonses



Join us for a series of lectures by NYU Professor Eliot Borenstein about the joys and sorrows of Russian and Soviet television advertising. These informal lectures are geared towards students, scholars, and anyone who might be interested in the topic. And yes, we take requests. The series will run weekly on Fridays, starting on May 21st.

Lecture One – Soviet Commercials: Keeping Up with the Dzhonses

A look at the early years of Soviet television commercials. What were these commercials for, and how did they imagine their audience?

Watch the event recording on YouTube