During communist rule in Soviet Bloc countries, ideas of promotion and advertising tended to be more theoretical than practical.

In Czechoslovakia, for instance, this led to some incredible movie posters that were more concerned with artistic expression than with selling the movie they were advertising.

It also led to some rather… unusual television commercials.

In many Eastern Bloc countries, products often did not need to be “sold” in the traditional sense; they would disappear from the shelves anyway. This opened the doors for TV commercials to become more educational or creative – bite-sized pieces of entertainment in and of themselves.

You might be familiar with this nightmare-inducing Estonian advert for poultry. Well, Czechoslovakia had its own versions. No further comment from me.