subject: Tv In The 21st Century A Shoppers Delight [print this page] Television has always been a vehicle for selling products and services. In the beginning, and for almost all of its history, this selling was done by commercials. It was not uncommon to see TV stars take a break from the show to hold up a product and say a few promotional words about it.
There were also pre-recorded commercials that sold everything from cereal and soda to beer and cigarettes. Yes, in TVs earliest days, there was no ban on selling sin products. That, of course, changed as government took a sterner approach to products that might be harmful to ones health.
Nevertheless, selling has always been as big a part of the TV experience as the entertainment that has kept people glued to their easy chairs, eyes fixed on the flickering images that fill the screen. Of course, it had never really gone much beyond the point of a 30-second spot or, perhaps, a sixty second spot. The spots would often be presented in groups, all part of a two minute, three minute or even five minute break from the regular programming.
At some point, this format for commercial interruptions began to change. It started with the introduction of the Infomercial, a full 30-minute commercial selling or attempting to sell a single product. Production companies sprung up, almost overnight, and began producing these half hour commercials that took the form of an actual TV show.
That was an amazing departure from all that had come before a true breakthrough for television land that recognized an essential fact: Americans love to buy stuff. Put something up for sale, especially to a captive audience (TV viewers) and chances are you will enjoy real success.
And you surely know what happened. Success came to the salesmen or women who knew how to push a product and excite the imagination of viewers people with the gift of gab and the natural ability to perform in front of an audience.
There were still 30 second and 60 second commercials. They would never disappear. But, now there were thirty minute commercials, too. And their success led to something entirely new and revolutionary Networks that exist to sell products all day every day.
Home Shopping Network and others like it are full time irresistible destinations for people who like to buy stuff from the comfort of their own homes. These networks must be doing well. Their on-air salespersonnel seem happier with each passing day.
