There are bad companies selling poor quality products in every industry and the infomercial industry is no different. The huge success infomercials have had for products makes them extremely tempting to con artists wanting to promote phony products. Dateline NBC aired a program where they investigated fraudulent product sold through infomercials. They decided to make and try to market their own unacceptable product…Moisturol. They had capsules of Nestle Quick bottled and claimed it reduced the signs of aging. They had the product tested and deemed safe and “ineffective”. Although the product was said to be useless, they found a company to produce and develop their commercial.
Testimonials were given by women who claimed the product worked. Even a Dr vouched for its value. But the when they received the finished commercial, they explained to everyone involved that this was a fake product. All involved noted that they were paid and were hyping it up due to the paycheck. It goes to show that you should be weary of any product sold and those that are advertised on infomercials are no exception.
Lending Tree drtv ad’s have been on television for several years now. They have changed over the years to use more animation and less people (actors). Their message is very direct:
- interest rates keep changing
- we can help you get out of your high interest loan into a low interest loan
This message resonates with consumers. The timing of their drtv ad’s are simply amazing. The amount of leads they will probably get during their campaign will be huge! Banks have lowered the interest rates to the lowest levels in decades.
The drtv agency used by Lending Tree has planned a great campaign for them. This combined with the current low interest rates will result is a very sucessful direct response television.
Throughout the Presidential campaign, it was hard to avoid a television show without the two candidates being discussed or featured. But unlike the news or talk shows Barack Obama was appearing on, he had his own show…an infomercial. He purchased 30 minutes of airtime for roughly between 3 and 5 million dollars. Some thought that the purchase was overkill and there was enough exposure throughout the campaign. Others thought it was brilliant and almost necessary to have a half hour devoted to explaining exactly what he wanted to say without interruption. Infomercials are a way of holding an open forum for you to express your views and unobstructed by a bias interviewer. Gone are the days when infomercials were used solely for Ginzu Knives. They are now valuable to a whole new audience.
The brand One Touch has become a household name with “ease of use” products they bring to households across the U.S. . The company has done a great job using DRTV to generate awareness. Thier plan has been to use direct response television to do the following:
a) Target a specific demographic
b) Use drtv to generate awareness
c) Use television combined with a outbound call center to generate sales
d) Drive viewers to dial an automated toll free number and also use the company website to generate sales
The ultimate goal for One Touch Can Opener was to hit the retail stores. They were very successful at doing this.