MSN Network Commercial 2001

Early computer network ad for the MSN network as shown in 2001

From 1995 to 1998, the MSN.com domain was used by Microsoft primarily to promote MSN as an online service and Internet service provider. At the time, MSN.com also offered a custom start page and an Internet tutorial, but Microsoft's major web portal was known as "Microsoft Internet Start", and was located at home.microsoft.com.

Internet Start served as the default home page for Internet Explorer and offered basic information such as news, weather, sports, stocks, entertainment reports, links to other websites on the Internet, articles by Microsoft staff members, and software updates for Windows. Microsoft's original news website, https://msnbc.com (now NBCNews.com), which launched in 1996, was also tied closely to the Internet Start portal.

In 1998, the largely underutilized 'MSN.com' domain name was combined with Microsoft Internet Start and reinvented as both a web portal and as the brand for a family of sites produced inside Microsoft's Interactive Media Group. The new website put MSN in direct competition with sites such as Yahoo!, Excite, and Go Network. Because the new format opened up MSN's content to the world for free, the Internet service provider and subscription service were renamed to MSN Internet Access at that time. (That service eventually became known as MSN Dial-up.)

The relaunched MSN.com contained a whole family of sites, including original content, channels that were carried over from 'web shows' that were part of Microsoft's MSN 2.0 experiment with its Internet service provider in 1996–97, and new features that were rapidly added. MSN.com became the successor to the default Internet Explorer start page, as all of the previous 'Microsoft Internet Start' website was merged with MSN.com.

Some of the original websites that Microsoft launched during that era remain active in some form today. Microsoft Investor, a business news and investments service that was once produced in conjunction with CNBC, is now MSN Money; CarPoint, an automobile comparison, and shopping service are now MSN Autos; and the Internet Gaming Zone, a website offering online casual games, is now MSN Games. Other websites since divested by Microsoft include the travel website Expedia, the online magazine Slate, and the local event and city search website Sidewalk.com.

In the late 1990s, Microsoft collaborated with many other service providers, as well as other Microsoft departments, to expand the range of MSN's services. Some examples include MSN adCenter, MSN Shopping (affiliated with eBay, PriceGrabber, and Shopping.com), and the Encarta encyclopedia with various levels of access to information.

Since then, MSN.com has remained a popular destination, launching many new services and content sites. MSN's Hotmail and Messenger services were promoted from the MSN.com portal, which provided a central place for all of MSN's content. MSN Search (now Bing), a dedicated search engine, was launched in 1999. The single sign-in service for Microsoft's online services, Microsoft Passport (now Microsoft account), also launched across all MSN services in 1999. The MSN.com portal and related group of services under the 'MSN' umbrella remained largely the same in the early 2000s.

The sports section of the MSN portal was ESPN.com from 2001 to 2004, and FoxSports.com from 2004 to 2014. MSN had an exclusive partnership with MSNBC.com for news content from 1996 until 2012 when Microsoft sold its remaining stake in msnbc.com to NBCUniversal and the website was renamed NBCNews.com. Since then, MSN has launched 'MSN News', an in-house news operation.

As of May 2005, MSN.com was the second most visited portal website in the United States with a share of 23.2 percent, behind Yahoo! which held a majority.

Drive in Classics Channel Promo Early 2000's

 From the History of Canadian Broadcasting website:

"Originally licensed by the CRTC as The Drive-In Channel, this CHUM-owned specialty service was launched in September 2001 as Drive-In Classics.  Its mandate from the CRTC was to present the entire spectrum of typical drive-in movies from the 50s, 60s and 70s – “….horror and thriller movies, beach party movies, car chase movies and social issues B-movies (juvenile delinquency, unwed mothers, biker gangs etc.)” The movies were to be the “…more obscure movie titles that are not offered by other movie services in Canada”

A CRTC hearing on an application by CTVglobemedia to acquire the assets of CHUM Limited was held on April 30th, 2007. Among the CHUM assets acquired by CTVglobemedia in the final approved deal were seven television stations, some 33 radio stations, and 21 specialty channels, including Drive-In Classics.

On July 15th, 2009, Corus Entertainment Inc. announced that it had agreed to purchase the Drive-In Classics specialty channel from CTVglobemedia, subject to CRTC approval. On September 29th, Corus announced that it would be rebranding the channel, but gave no date or name for the new specialty service. On November 19th, the CRTC approved the Corus application.

In December 2009, Corus announced that they had made a deal with Rainbow Media that would enable Corus to add the Sundance Channel to its portfolio of Canadian specialty services. Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel featured a broad range of programming, from niche, genre-focused cinema to socially provocative films. The new channel was set to replace Corus' Drive-Classics channel effectively on March 1st, 2010.

Sundance Channel closed down on March 1, 2018, and the CRTC revoked the license on March 27, 2018."

Toronto Film School Commercial - Early 2000's

Commercial for the Toronto Film School as shown in the early 2000s

The Toronto Film School is a for-profit post-secondary institution based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school offers creative diploma programs in the areas of film, entertainment, fashion, design, and video games.

Toronto Film School offers the following diploma programs:

• Acting for Film, TV & the Theatre
• Film Production
• Writing for Film & TV
• Video Game Design & Animation
• Video Game Design & Development
• Fashion Design
• Marketing for Fashion and Entertainment
• Graphic Design & Interactive Media

Shop Ottawa Street, Hamilton Ontario Early 2000s

Local commercial for small businesses located on Ottawa Street in Hamilton Ontario in the early 2000s

Ottawa Street is a Lower City arterial road in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It starts off at Lawrence Road at the base of the Niagara Escarpment (mountain) and is a two-way street throughout, cutting through the Delta and Crown Point neighborhoods and the City's North End industrial neighborhood. It ends at Industrial Drive, the site of the Dofasco steel company. This used to be one of the east ends' mountain access roads - it continued south over the train tracks at Lawrence Road and quickly turned right towards the brick manufacturing plant once known as Hamilton Brick. It took several turns before joining what is now the Kenilworth Access near the old water reservoir entrance. Its routing up the mountain is fairly consistent with the current Kenilworth Access with one exception - another hairpin turn at the top; not the traffic circle that is present now. It was because of these hairpin turns that the Hamilton Street Railway discontinued bus service on this road in 1944, and why the City planned a new Kenilworth Access to the east which opened in 1957.

The Tim Hortons chain was founded in Hamilton in 1964. The original store still operates on Ottawa Street

French's Mustard Commercial 2003

Commercial for French's Mustard as broadcast in 2003

French's is an American brand of prepared mustard, condiments, fried onions, and other food items that was created by Robert Timothy French. French's "Cream Salad Brand" mustard debuted to the world at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. By 1921, French's Mustard had adopted its trademark pennant and begun advertising to the general public. French's is now owned by McCormick & Company.

Alexander Keith Beer Commercial - Early 2000s

A bit of a whimsical ad for Alexandar Keith beer broadcast in the early 2000s

Alexander Keith's is a brewery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is part of Anheuser-Busch InBev, a holdings company based in Leuven, Belgium, which owns over 400 beer brands globally.

The brewery was founded in 1820 by Alexander Keith who had immigrated from Scotland three years previously. In 1928, the business was sold to Oland Brewery, which was in turn sold to the Labatt Brewing Company. Following a number of mergers and acquisitions, Labatt's is now part of Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Since 1928, parent companies kept the brand alive, and by the 1990s Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale (IPA) was the most popular beer in Nova Scotia. A number of other styles are also marketed. Although Alexander Keith products were originally produced in the Halifax brewery only for sale in the Maritimes, they are now produced at Anheuser-Busch InBev plants across Canada and America.

Archived recipes for beer made by Alexander Keith's Brewery in the early 1900s show high levels of hopping, with large all-malt mash ingredients and no use of corn, typical for beers of that time. In contrast, the modern beer marketed as Alexander Keith's IPA is only 5% alcohol by volume and lightly hopped, which does not meet the accepted criteria for an India pale ale.

2003 Nissan Altima Commercial

 

TV Commercial for the 2003 Nissan Altima

The Altima has historically been larger, more powerful, and more luxurious than the Nissan Sentra but less so than the Nissan Maxima. The first through fourth generation cars were manufactured exclusively in the United States and officially sold in North and South America, along with the Middle East and Australia.

The name "Altima" was originally applied to a top trim line of the Nissan Leopard for the Japanese market in 1986, and then to the Nissan Laurel mid-size car sold in Central America and the Caribbean before 1992. In 1992, Nissan discontinued the Stanza which was a Nissan Bluebird clone, replacing it with the US-built Altima, while remaining a compact car. The first Altima was produced in June 1992, as a 1993 model. All Altima models were built in Smyrna, Tennessee, until June 2004, when Nissan's Canton, Mississippi plant also began producing the model to meet high demand.

The third-generation Altima (chassis model L31) debuted for the 2002 model year. It was the first mass-market product built on Nissan's new FF-L platform, which was unique to North America and had no equivalent model in Japan. The Asian Nissan Teana is similar but not quite identical, designed for Southeast Asian market requirements; all three model lines shared the same platform. The Altima grew significantly for this generation, as interior volume expanded to 118.8 cubic feet (3.36 m3). The Altima's interior dimensions even surpassed that of the higher-end 2000-03 Maxima, so the 2004 Maxima was moved more upscale into the full-size bracket. Also, the biggest in class was the Altima's 20 US gal (76 L; 17 imp gal) fuel tank. Additionally, the Altima upgraded its rear suspension to a multi-link type and its brakes to 4-wheel discs. This was the first generation to offer a V6 engine.

2003–2004 models received two-tone dash color, and the 3.5 SE received an upgrade in horsepower, from 240 hp (179 kW) to 245 hp (183 kW), though torque stayed the same at 246 lb-ft (334 N⋅m). 2002–2004 models with manual gearbox were the lightest of the V6 (4DR) cars. The 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine accelerated the sedan from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 8.6 seconds.

Radio Shack (Canada) Commercial - early 2000's

 

Radio Shack commercial broadcast sometime in the early 2000s

The Source Electronics Inc., doing business as The Source, is a Canadian consumer electronics and cell phone retail chain. The chain goes back over 40 years in Canada, initially as Radio Shack and later as The Source by Circuit City. The Source is now owned by BCE Inc., which purchased the assets of InterTAN from its parent, American retailer Circuit City, in 2009. 

The Source began as the Canadian branch of Radio Shack (later "RadioShack"). The chain was originally owned by Radio Shack's American parent company Tandy Corporation but was spun off in June 1986, along with the rest of Tandy's international operations, as InterTAN. A licensing agreement with what became RadioShack Corporation allowed InterTAN to continue to use the chain's name and logo. 

In 2004 InterTAN was acquired by Circuit City. In 2005, Circuit City announced that the stores would be renamed The Source by Circuit City. The rebranding process was completed in the majority of the chain's Canadian stores by July 1, 2005. The chain also introduced new house brands, including Nexxtech and Vital, in place of RadioShack store brands.

In February 2007, The Source announced it would close down 62 low-volume stores across Canada. On March 30, 2007, Circuit City announced to its shareholders that it was seeking options including selling off the InterTAN/The Source subsidiary to cut losses. On November 10, 2008, InterTAN sought protection from its creditors, after Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Circuit City announced on January 16, 2009, that its namesake U.S. stores would be liquidated. The Source was not affected by the announcement, and a process followed to sell the Canadian operations as a going concern.

On March 2, 2009, Canadian telecommunications firm Bell Canada announced it would acquire The Source and continue to operate it as an independent division. The acquisition was completed July 1 for the final purchase price of $135 million US, following which the chain removed the "by Circuit City" from its name. Prior to January 2010, the stores sold mobile phone services from Bell's main competitor, Rogers Wireless; at that point, the chain began to exclusively market Bell-owned wireless (including value brand Virgin Mobile), television, and internet services.

Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) PSA 2003

 

PSA for the services provided by Canadian Mortgage and Housing CMHC broadcast in 2003

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is a Crown Corporation of the Government of Canada. Its superseding agency was established after World War II, to help returning war veterans find housing. It has since expanded its mandate to assist housing for all Canadians. The organization's primary goals are to provide mortgage liquidity, assist in affordable housing development, and provide unbiased research and advice to the Canadian government, and the housing industry.

Twix Candy Commercial 1991

 Commercial for TWIX candy bars broadcast in 1991

Twix is a caramel shortbread chocolate bar made by Mars, Inc., consisting of a biscuit applied with other confectionery toppings and coatings (most frequently caramel and milk chocolate). Twix is packaged with one, two, or four bars in a wrapper, the new slogan for Twix is "Try both. Pick a side." Miniature and other variations of Twix bars are also available.

The product was first produced in the United Kingdom in 1967 and introduced in the United States in 1979. 

Molson Export Commercial 1991

Beer Commercial for Molson Export broadcast in 1991

Molson Export beer is a Canadian ale brewed by Molson at a strength of 5% alcohol by volume. First brewed in 1903, Molson Export is the oldest surviving of the Molson beer brands.

The beer was named Molson Export because the brewers deemed it of such high quality that it was good enough to be exported and was even better than the imports that were in high demand at the time. In 1955, the boat on the label was chosen to replace the previous anchor and crown logo.