Here's a commercial for Philips flat screen TVs featuring their new at the time "Ambilight" function which used LED backlighting behind the set.
This commercial only stresses in my opinion what a gimmick those features at the time were. I thought having the latest in TV technology is good enough without gimmicks like a stupid backlight. Other gimmicks for flat TV's at the time included Panasonic having custom hardwood frames for their TVs (for over $100) and a TV in Japan shaped like a stage with curtains that open and close when you turned the TV on and off. Looks like all these gimmick features fell by the wayside a few years later (although Ambilight is still available on a few models.)
Don't even get me started on the latest TV gimmick - the "Smart" TV which despite the features it has, it also has been proven to be possibly dangerous because it spies on you illegally (like "The Box" in the movie Batman Forever.)
PS - I still use CRT televisions...
This aired on local Chicago TV in 2005.
