The present paper studies the discourse of TV advertising from the point of view of pragmatics. It presents the results of the author's socio-pragmatic analysis of American television commercials for products of everyday use. It examines the way the pragmatic principles, both first-order and higher-order ones, are applied in the verbal devices with which a commercial addresses TV viewers. It concludes that the maxims that are foregrounded and observed most are those that foreground the persuadee's personality and the quality of the product being advertised.