In 1926 Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll created a daily 15-minute long comedy sketch based on the hard time living of two black characters, Amos and Andy. Amos 'n' Andy made its NBC debut in 1929, sponsored by Pepsodent. Despite the fact that its creators were white, the show became wildly popular, eventually attracting an audience estimated at 40 million listeners. President Calvin Coolidge was said to excuse himself from state dinners to listen to the show. And George Bernard Shaw observed: "There are three things I'll never forget about America: The Rocky Mountains, Niagara Falls, and Amos 'n' Andy. By today's standards, the show depicted and reinforced racial sterotypes and would be considered offensive by many, but during the depression years the problems of the black protaganists were equated with the problems of any American trying to make it through tough times.