Infomercials

The infomercial is a 30-minute ad that looks like a program but is instead selling a product

. Throughout the program, a toll-free number appears. By calling it, viewers can order the product. On January 1, 1990, when the Federal Communications Com-mission's regulation called Syndex (for "syndication exclusivity") went into effect, use of infomercials by cable stations rose. Syndex stipulates that cable stations cannot show syndicated programs if the same programs are being shown on local television in the same market. During the time that is now blocked out by Syndex, cable stations can, if they choose, pick up infomercials beamed to them twenty-four hours a day at no charge via satellite. In the fourth quarter of 1997, $42.9 million of infomercial billings were registered in the health and fitness area, $35.1 million in house wares MBT Shoes and kitchen electrics, and $23 A million in finances, business opportunities, insurance, and banking. Overall, there were $827 million in media billings in 1997, and billings have been dropping in the past five years. Women are the predominant buyers of products advertised on infomercials. In 1995, 69 percent of purchases were made by females. In 1997, that proportion was 85 percent.

One infomercial had the look of a rock 'n' roll special. For that infomercial, a producer gathered the rights to 150 past hits and packaged them on twenty cassettes. He then paid disc jockey Wolfman Jack to endorse the product as "Wolfman Jack's favorite all time hits"; $200,000 in production costs later, the infomercial offering the cassettes was ready to air. Another infomercial featuring chef Arnold Morris resembles a Julia Child cooking show. Its title is "Arnold's Gourmet Kitchen."

By producing programming to go with their commercials, companies create ads that are similar to infomercials as a way of ensuring that the ads will not be lost in the clutter of other messages. Valvoline Inc., makers of Valvoline motor oil, had its advertising agency, Bozell, create both the Second Annual Valvoline National Driving Test and the ads for it. Because the program bore the sponsor's name, it, too, was a form of advertising. The Valvoline Driving Test, which aired in late MBT Shoes On Sale August 1990, harks back to an earlier age in broadcasting. The Dinah Shore Show was sponsored by Chevrolet and featured the tune "See the USA in Your Chevrolet." During the 1940s and 1950s, radio shows routinely carried the names of their sponsors.

by: FIRELEAVES

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