
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.

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.
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.
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.

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.

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.