Infomercial
Infomercials are television commercials that run as long as a typical
television program (roughly 28 minutes, 30 seconds). Infomercials, also known as
paid programming (or
teleshopping in Europe), are normally shown outside of peak hours, such as late at night or early in the morning. The word
infomercial is a
portmanteau which is formed by combining the words "
information" and "
commercial". As in any other form of
advertisement, the content is a
commercial message designed to represent the viewpoints and to serve the interest of the sponsor. Infomercials are often made to closely resemble actual television programming, usually
talk shows, with minimal acknowledgement that the program is actually an advertisement.
Infomercials are designed to solicit a direct response which is specific and
quantifiable and are, therefore, a form of
direct response marketing (not to be confused with
direct marketing). The ad response is delivered directly to television viewers by infomercial advertisers through the television ad. In normal commercials, advertisers do not solicit a direct response from viewers, but, instead,
brand their product in the market place amongst potential buyers.
Infomercial advertisers may make use of flashy
catchphrases (such as "Set it and Forget it"), repeat basic ideas, and/or employ scientist-like characters or celebrities as guests or hosts in their ad. Famous infomercial personalities include:
Cher,
George Foreman (with the
George Foreman Grill),
Ron Popeil,
Chuck Norris,
Jack Lalanne,
Cheryl Tiegs,
Daisy Fuentes and
Tony Robbins. The book
As Seen on TV (Quirk Books) by
Lou Harry, Sam Stall and Julia Spalding highlights the history of such memorable products as the
Flowbee, the
Chia Pet, and
Ginsu knives.
Because of the sometimes sensational nature of the ad form,
consumer advocates recommend careful investigation of the claims made within any infomercial ad and investigation of the company sponsoring the subject product of the infomercial before purchasing the featured product or products. Infomercials are for the largest part shown late night to early morning between 2:00am and 6:00am.
Infomercials proliferated in the
United States after
1984 when the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) eliminated regulations, which were established in the
1950s and
1960s, on the commercial content of television. Much of their early development can be attributed to business partners
Edward Valenti and Barry Beecher, who developed the format to sell the
Ginsu Knife.
On occasion infomercials have been used for
election campaigns. Most notably was that of former
President of the United States candidate,
Ross Perot, when he introduced his
1996 candidacy with running mate,
Pat Choate, using an infomercial.
Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate
Harry Browne also used an infomercial in 2000, which was hosted by
David Ruprecht, former host of the game show
Supermarket Sweep.
Lyndon LaRouche was also known for buying time on television networks to run his own campaign infomercials for each of his presidential runs.
Some televangelists such as
Robert Tilton and
Peter Popoff buy television time from infomercial brokers representing TV stations around the U.S.A. and even some mass-distributed cable networks that are not averse to carrying religious programming. A block of such programming appears weekdays on
BET under the
umbrella title BET Inspiration.
*
Dan Aykroyd's skit on
Saturday Night Live for the
"Bass-O-Matic."*The comedian
Leo Gallagher is famous for his sendup of infomercials with his signature
sledgehammer routine, a presentation of the fruit and vegetable preparation tool called the
"Sledge-O-Matic ".
*On television's
The Simpsons, faded Hollywood heartthrob
Troy McClure regularly appeared on infomercials entitled
"I Can't Believe They Invented It!"*
John Madden popcorn popper on
MAD TV.
*
Electronic Retailing Association Trade association for the infomercial industry
*
IMSTV.com Infomercial Monitoring Service.
*
Infomercials Watch As Seen On TV Ads Online.
*
Commercials*
Advertisement*
Marketing*
Direct response television
