Paid Programming
Usually during lunch, I watch something that I’ve downloaded on my xbox. However, today my xbox was in pieces, so I was forced to watch what was on during the noon hour. Now, mind you, I don’t have anything but basic cable (stations 1-22, I should just an antenna and be done with it, for as little as I watch), so this greatly limits what I can view. For those of you that watch TV during this time frame, you know that there are soaps, “news”, children’s shows (which I’ve also watched), and infomercials.
Ah yes, the bane of the TV watching experience, infomercials. What really makes the infomercials horrible during the noon hour, are who they’re marketed to. These are definitely not the same programs that are run at 3am, assuring you that you need this product in order to make your kitchen complete. Instead, these uber-long commercials are directed to the stay at home, sedentary mom and the retiree who’s looking for more to life.
From 12-12:30 CST, it is always for some weight loss type product. It seems as though Beach Body has permanently purchased this block of time on the WB. Today’s commercial was for Yoga Booty Ballet (I can’t even make stuff up that good). Now, aside from the name and the fact that you get a kick out of watching these TV shows, why on God’s Green Earth would you actually sit down and watch this, let alone take it seriously? Let’s look at the typical components of a fitness related infomercial.
- Celebrity Spokesperson (probably not anyone that’s really in their prime currently)
- Real-life Customer Results (remember, these results aren’t typical, or so says the fine print)
- Catchy Name (it’s got “booty” in it, it must be cool)
- Unbelievable Deal Only Good for Next XX Minutes (only, online you get the outrageous deal ALL the time)
- Upsell, but no additional price (oh, we get a squishy ball AND 7 day diet book)
- Compare to Competing Products (I’d have to buy how much for a home gym?)
From 12:30-1 we have a different demographic to attempt to seduce. This time we always start off with some business-type person talking about the wonders of this herbal supplement. Or, maybe it’s an older couple that have tried said herbal supplement, and it’s changed everything about them. To contrast the fitness infomercial, let’s admire the components of the herbal supplement commercial.
- Medical Doctor (I can take an M.D. after my name too, but that doesn’t mean it’s real)
- Real-life Customer Results (remember, these results aren’t typical, or so says the fine print)
- Catchy Name (in our case ViTal, for, I guess, vitality?)
- Unbelievable Deal Only Good for Next XX Minutes (only, online you get the outrageous deal ALL the time)
- Upsell, but no additional price (oh, we get an extra two months supply absolutely free?)
- Compare to Competing Products (Botox is how much?)
Alright, lets be honest, who sees the similarities between the two? Maybe I’ve cracked the infomercial code and could be come a millionaire?
- 1) Come up with crap product
2)
3) PROFIT!!!1
I mean, are consumer’s really that dumb that they are easily swayed by someone sounding excited? Apparently they are, since these commercials wouldn’t be around if they didn’t work. But they are fun to watch, to see all the other techniques they use to sway people in. Things like black & photography for the before results, vibrant colors for after; sad faces on the people before they’ve lost their weight, jovial faces for after, etc. It’s quite scary how people must be easily swayed.
Oh yeah, and why do they always state that this has been a paid program? Are not all commercials paid, or is this something the government has put in place?
April 14th, 2005 - 14:05
I admit that I enjoy watching infomercials for pretty such the same reasons that you do: they’re so utterly absurd. Have you seen the “Juice Man,” the guy with the white hair and wild eyebrows who looks like a wizard and is talking about how “juicing” is putting life into you, unlike meat, which is dead?
Or how about “Charlton Heston Presents The Bible?” That’s a good one. The people they interview are like, “I get to see videos of these holy places, so it’s like I’ve been there.” No, it’s not.
To answer your question, are consumers really that dumb? Yes. The average human isn’t that smart. When you surround yourself with smart people (like at a good University), you lose sight of what “average” is, since “average” in your group is way above that of the nation.
April 15th, 2005 - 07:34
I have a confession to make… I bought a Magic Bullet it looks much better on <a >Amazon</a>. It really is a darned good blender, we were going to use it for a party and return it, but we kept it instead b-c we were so happy… on a side note I think it is hilarious that someone posted a review on Amazon’s site about another website’s QOS.
April 15th, 2005 - 08:04
If you want comedy, find an informercial selling a computer. Those are the best.
April 15th, 2005 - 08:19
alright b, you need to close our your links with an ending quotation mark. and I didn’t make all infomercials sound horrible. I mean, there are some decent products (granted I’ve never bought anything), but some, like the above examples are pretty funny.