While soap operas often get a bad rap, they still represent an important part of entertainment history. Over the past 70 years, the overly dramatic television shows have been targeted mainly at homemakers whose husbands are at work and children at school during the day, so they had free afternoons to themselves. Most of the shows were sponsored by just one brand — there were no other advertisers. The shows were created for companies to advertise their products, and they were very successful. Procter & Gamble was the biggest advertiser in the field. General Foods and General Mills also had programs of their own. The “opera” part of the phrase "soap opera" refers to the over-the-top plot lines, channeling the similar melodrama of traditional theatre-based operas. Daytime soap operas remain on the air, though usually without all the soap advertisements. Millions of people — not just homemakers — now tune in to get their daily dose of cliffhangers and theatrics from shows like General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless.
