subject: Infomercials Popping up in Mainstream Culture [print this page] Infomercials Popping up in Mainstream Culture
Infomercial products sold on T.V. have, little by little, become part of American pop culture. A decade or two ago they were relatively obscure product sell segments shown on late-night cable channels and primarily featured unknown pitchmen and women as the presenters. Things have changed. Today, even the hip late night talk show hosts, such as Jay Leno and David Letterman, make jokes about infomercials in their monologues and acts, drawing mainstream attention to them in ways like never before. Stand-up comedians of all calibers and popularity levels regularly wrap punch lines with jokes about infomercials in their routines, while working stiffs across the country have brought infomercial tag lines and jokes to the corporate water cooler.
Due to the relentless showing of these spots 24/7 on almost every channel, it is no wonder that most of us know the names of the products, the celebrity or zany pitchman, and those famous tag lines as well as we know the pledge of allegiance. If it slices, dices and cuts and chops like no other product in history, chances are we've seen it demonstrated and we know who's selling it.
So, how did the infomercial's slide from relative obscurity on insomniac spots on TV to mainstream American pop culture come about? Well, let's go back a few years. Smart marketers figured out that instead of the commercial quickie, which usually lasts between 30 to 60 seconds, offering a full presentation and demonstration of the product in 20-30 minute segments could be a much more effective way to sell a product, like a cooking aid, a home cleaner, an acne medication or a hair product. (Remember the Flobee?)
Part of this shift was due to cable television having so many channels to program shows and so much air to fill. Why not use this time to capture potential customers, but do it in a way that gives the viewer the ability to sink into a product for a little while and actually see how it works. Those air fillers started as 30 minute commercials, which became known as the "infomercial," providing a new and relatively inexpensive way for these marketing companies to purchase the time slots during the whole 24-hour viewing period.
The format was a complete demonstration of the product usually with a live audience, several different demos of the product, and testimonials from current owners of the product. Many of the infomercials used the tactic of giving you an extra of the main item and giving you some additional info or items and created the famous line "and now how much would you pay." Most people know the famous tag lines like "set it and forget it" or "shamwow" that are associated with infomercial products.
A new trend started with these infomercial products sold on T.V. : Advertisers started using celebrities to help pitch their products. Big names like Chuck Norris, Christie Brinkley, Susanne Summer and Sylvester Stallone were among the big ones early on. What these celebrities did was essentially put their endorsement on products ranging from acne skin care from Proactive, to more expensive exercise equipment, like the Thigh Master.
We make jokes about these infomercials today but the reason we keep seeing them is they work. Companies like Guthy-Renkar have sold billions of dollars worth of products using the infomercial format. The only thing that could threaten this marketing method is the DVR recorder where you can watch your recorded show back without commercials.
So what about those jokes? Well, many of the infomercials from the early days on cable are actually really funny, in the sense that they were sometimes a little low-tech and frankly the products were downright tacky or odd. But the ones that stick in your head, the infomercials with hilarious taglines or ironic messages, they not only manage to sell products, they have found their way into our daily conversations on many levels. Comedian Jimmy Fallon has donned one of latest infomercial products, the Snuggie, on his late-night show, and it has been featured in many YouTube videos. Snuggie pub crawls have been staged in San Francisco and Knoxville, Tenn.
Even mainstream media has picked up on the lighter side of the industry. TIME recently featured a list of what it calls the 25 worst infomercials of all-time, and they include the Bark Off, the Booty Booty Pop and the ShoeDini.
