TCS ION

Study on Advertising
models – Infomercial vs.
Commercial
Viva Project

Name- Pranit Desai

Institute- International School of Business and
Media
Mentor- Kala Sadasivam
Study on Advertising models – Infomercial vs Commercial

1. INTRODUCTION

What is Advertising?

Advertising is a marketing tactic involving paying for space to promote a product,

service, or cause. The actual promotional messages are called advertisements, or ads
for short. The goal of advertising is to reach people most likely to be willing to pay
for a company’s products or services and entice them to buy.

History of Advertising:

There are no official records of when the first advertisement was published
Especially social advertising. Egyptians used papyrus to make sales messages and
Wall posters. Commercial messages and political campaign displays have been found
In the ruins of Pompeii and ancient Arabia. Lost and found advertising on papyrus
was common in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Wall or rock painting for
commercial advertising is another manifestation of an ancient advertising form,
which is present to this day in many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. The
tradition of wall painting can be traced back to Indian rock art paintings that date
back to 4000 BC.

Bronze plate for printing an advertisement for the Liu family needle shop at Jinan,
Song Dynasty China. It is considered the world’s earliest identified printed
advertising medium.
 A Coca-Cola advertisement from the 1890s

Public Service Advertising in World War – 2

This is also called social service advertising or development advertising. Here the
focus is on issues that impact society on a larger scale, such as family planning,
national integration, polio eradication, and pollution control. The main purpose is to
create public awareness through hard-hitting direct messages. These ads do not sell
products and services but ideas.
Pay media:

Paying people to hold signs is one of the oldest forms of advertising, as with this
human billboard.

A bus with an advertisement for GAP in Singapore. Buses and other vehicles are
popular media for advertisers.
 Rise in new media

US Newspaper Advertising Revenue. Newspaper Association of America published

Data

With the Internet came many new advertising opportunities. Popup, Flash, banner,
Popunder, advergaming, and email advertisements (all of which are often unwanted
or spam in the case of email) are now commonplace. Particularly since the rise of
"entertaining" advertising, some people may like an advertisement enough to wish
to watch it later or show a friend. In general, the advertising community has not yet
made this easy, although some have used the Internet to widely distribute their ads
to anyone willing to see or hear them. In the last three-quarters of 2009 mobile and
internet advertising grew by 18% and 9% respectively. Older media advertising saw
declines: − 10.1% (TV), − 11.7% (radio), − 14.8% (magazines) and − 18.7%
(newspapers).

Finding Your Ideal Customer

When trying to zero in on the types of people who are more likely to need or want
your goods or services, and be willing to shell out hard-earned cash for it, you might
look at demographic characteristics, such as:
 Gender

 Age

 Education level

 Income level

 Zip code

By more precisely defining who your target customer is, you can better choose
advertising vehicles that will reach more of your target customers for less money.
Sure, you can buy an expensive ad in the Wall Street Journal, for example, but if your
best customers live in the western Boston suburbs, you can buy ads in local papers
there for far less.
 Where to Advertise
Traditional advertising outlets include newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations.
Today, however, advertisements are placed nearly everywhere and anywhere,
including:
 . Roadside billboards

 Sides of buildings

 Websites

 Electronic newsletters

 Print newsletters

 Inside bills

 Product packaging

 Restaurant placemats

 Event bulletins

 Store windows

 The sides of cars and trucks

 Subway car walls

 Airport kiosks

 Sporting arenas

 YouTube videos

Creating Effective Ads

Advertising messages themselves are designed to persuade an individual to buy a

company’s goods or services. Even in business-to-business transactions, individuals
have to first be convinced to choose one product over another. To accomplish this, ads
have five main components.
 Headline - This is the key attention-getting message. “Got milk?” is a perfect
headline. Or Wendy’s old, “Where’s the beef?”

 Subhead - Some ad headlines need clarification, much like a book’s subtitle.

 Body copy - The meat of the advertising message occurs in the main section
where the product or service’s features and benefits are highlighted.

 Image - Unless you’re advertising on the radio, including a product photo, or

image illustrating a key benefit is critical.
  Call-to-action - At the end of the ad you want to invite the consumer to take a
step towards doing business with you, such as calling a toll-free number,
visiting a website, texting a certain number, or pulling into the drive-thru
window.

While advertising is the only way to guarantee that your message will be seen or
heard, it is expensive by comparison to other marketing methods. For that reason, it is
more popular with large corporations and brands than small businesses.

Infomercial:

An infomercial is a form of advertisement which is aimed at educating the customer

about a product or a series of products via television in the form of a program.
Infomercial typically lasts longer than a regular advertisement and thus is more
detailed.

Infomercials are good for those products which require detailed explanation about
their features as they can run as a regular length television program. In the print
media, infomercials appear as a separate supplement.

Infomercials are able to directly connect with its consumers on a real-time basis. They
create that connect with the potential customer to make an enquiry about the product
or place an order. Usually, various offers or promotions/discounts are pitched to
customers at the time of product promotion.

A toll-free number is generally aired on the television channel as part of an

infomercial with the product code to help customers order that particular product.

Another important feature of an infomercial is that it appears during off-peak hours,

as compared to regular advertisements which appear during peak hours. One possible
reason is that advertisement rates are generally lower around off-peak hours and
because infomercials require more time, it comes out to be economical for them.

There is no defined category of products that use infomercials as part of their strategy
to woo customers. Products ranging from clothes, cosmetics, sarees, home
improvement, kitchen items, shoes, gym equipment, etc. use infomercial.

One of the major feature of infomercials is the reach and because of the way it is
communicated, it makes an instant connect with consumers across regions. Most of
the demand comes from tier II and tier III cities.

Homeshop 18 is one example which runs infomercials. It is a 24-hour television

channel which only airs infomercials. Apart from that, it has some more shows which
run on other channels such as Colors or Sony
Commercial:

Commercial Advertising is typically designed to make consumers more aware of

people, places or products. In some cases the advertising occurs as a public service,
such as a campaign to make people more aware of the dangers of smoking or alcohol
use. In other instances, the purpose of advertising is to gain the interest and trust of
consumers. Advertisers seek to increase interest in buying a product, visiting a place,
or using a specific service. Commercial advertising in general is the use of advertising
to generate revenue.

One important aspect of commercial advertising is that it creates a demand or a

perceived need for something. As soon as the consumer has a reason to want,
advertising is there to offer a solution to that need. Advertisements give answers to a
consumer's questions, including where to eat, where to go, or what to buy. Effective
advertising works to create a desire while offering an attractive solution.

Not every aspect of commercial advertising relates to fulfilling an immediate need.

Advertisers also strive to create name recognition, which is commonly called
"branding." Effective branding means the consumer instantly recognizes the company
or the product name and has come to feel positively about it. Companies use
advertising in an effort to impress consumers with how happy they will be once they
buy the item or use the service offered.

Often in successful commercial advertising, a company hits on something that strikes

a chord with the consumer, such as a mascot, spokesperson, or jingle. These are tools
advertisers use to help consumers remember a product and purchase it when a future
need arises. Although it may not result in immediate sales increases, consumers are
thought to buy more frequently from companies with a recognizable, positive image.

The marketplace is flooded with advertising. It's found on television, in magazines,

and on billboards. Advertising is often found printed on the sides of buses, and it is
commonly splashed all over the Internet.
.
Football stadiums, baseball parks, community pools have all become part of the
commercial marketplace, selling naming rights to companies wishing to bolster their
name recognition. There is no one type of media that defines what commercial
advertising is. Advertisers try to use nearly any means available to them to spread the
word about their goods and services.
Infomercial vs Commercial

All commercials are advertisements, but not all advertisements are commercials.
Large and small businesses alike may benefit from understanding the distinctions
between the two, as well as the other options available within the advertisement arena.
Your education in these areas, marketing objectives and budget will help you
determine whether or not to produce a commercial or develop another form of
advertisement.

Commercial Advertisements – also known as ads – are the vehicle in which

companies and the advertising industry drive their message to consumers. The goal is
to motivate consumers to buy goods or services, change their thinking or create
excitement.

Ads, by definition, are purchased (space or time) and public (as opposed to personal).
Examples of advertisement categories include print, mail, telephone, radio, television
and Internet. Within these categories are sub-categories. For instance, a television ad
may be a silent television show promo that appears on the edge of your screen
announcing its premiere date and time, a commercial or an infomercial.

Commercials are a type of advertisement identified by the use of voice and length of
time – typically 10 to 60 seconds. Using voice in this type of advertisement requires
purchased time to run the pre-recorded voiceover (commentary over or without
images) or dialogue/monologue by an actor in the commercial. Examples of
commercial placement include television, radio, Internet or kiosks at public places
such as malls, airports and public transportation stations. Commercials are also
increasingly used at gas stations, grocery stores and medical offices where consumers
watch while they wait.

Infomercials are a type of commercial – and, thus, advertisement – distinguished first

by its longer length, between 15 and 30 minutes. While some traditional commercials
may demonstrate the product, the infomercial uses its extended time to present needs,
demonstrate ways the featured product will solve them, illustrate benefits and issue a
call to action for consumers. The infomercial is not confined to late-night television;
depending on your industry and potential kiosk use, you may consider developing one
in other arenas, or even on your own website.

Considerations- Whether your business is large or small, research your options and
storyboard your advertisements before hiring designers and buying space and time.
With so many ad choices, you will be wise to know what is within your budget, and
do everything you can at once; one photo shoot, one actor who can serve in both your
commercial and voiceover ad (radio, Internet, trade show kiosk), or whatever
advertisements you choose. In addition to reigning in your budget, planning ahead
may help you stay on your brand message. If you decide to develop a commercial,
choose a voice you may also use for voiceover work and an actor for print ads.
Difference between Infomercial and Commercial

Video advertising has cemented itself within our culture. To the point where it’s hard
to think of what television and the internet was before these ads were everywhere.
Two titans of this area of marketing are the commercial, the standard short
advertisement that many of us consider to just be time fodder to fill the gaps in breaks
between our normally scheduled programming, and the infomercial, longer more
detailed ads that have a specific audience. These two marketing tactics have
influenced the purchases of countless products across the globe.

These are effective since they’re on at any given moment. No need to pick up a
newspaper or buy a magazine full of companies. What sets these two apart are a
number of characteristics that are actually interchangeable. Certain commercials
utilize tactics found in infomercials and vice versa.

Commercials are to get the attention and intrigue of someone who’s watching
television. Whether it be to shock them, make them laugh, or even annoy them. They
often have less than 30 seconds to make their case so there’s no room for build up or
character development. Ones with actors often show a relatable situation that catches
the attention of the everyman/everywoman. Often the scenario is literally read out for
the viewer. Comedic skit, grave realistic facts, mascots, celebrities, and more are
implemented to gain our attention. If a company has an established history, they’ll
simply stick their name onto a video, and it’s enough to garner results. Some
commercials themselves have gone down in history for being iconic.

Infomercials are technically a type of commercial. However the stark difference

makes it very much its own type of advertising. They’re much longer, their time slots
can be as long as a scheduled program. Short ones are about triple the time of a
normal commercial. Along with the added time, they also have a slightly different
method of gaining customers. Commercials attempt to impact you, and make an
impression on anyone watching in a short amount of time. Infomercials target specific
people. They grab your attention by asking specific questions. They’ll show a clip
asking “is this you”. After they’ve caught their audience, they present the product or
service, and they supply a toll free number. Infomercials are mainly used to provide
products that make life easier and thrive on impulse buys by using terms like “if you
call now”. They also present half the deal at the beginning, and towards the end they
double the offer. Overall infomercials have a more detailed and commitment based
approach.

These two can often be mistaken for one another since there’s no standards rule book
saying you can’t borrow tactics from the other. Often short infomercials or longer
commercials will take ideas from their counterparts. Both commercials and
infomercials play a substantial part in advertising for companies across the globe.
Infomercial Vs. Commercial – Infographic

Infomercial and commercial have often been used interchangeably. I’m sure you have
heard of them a couple of times already when watching TV and eating your favourite
popcorn. But, what’s what? More than just the length and their definition, there are a
few major differences between them especially with regard to their effectiveness in
advertising. Since the launch of the first infomercial about a few decades ago, it has
grown and changed remarkably, becoming one of the most efficient and effective way
to launch a certain product and build a brand.

Infomercial is one example of direct to consumer advertising, and it is very effective

to any kinds of business. Because of the advancement of technology, infomercial
became number one effective marketing strategy for new and innovative products that
can be shown to make life easier and better. However, producing infomercial is not an
easy thing, it may be frustrating if you don’t identify right away your goals and plans
for it.

As the advertising world continues to evolve, more and more brand advertisers have
grasped the idea of adding up DRTV commercials/infomercials to their marketing
selections. Lately, some big and recognizable brand like Apple, Nikon, Nissan and the
U.S Navy have utilized long- and short-form DRTV campaigns for their products and
services to nurture customer loyalty and generate new leads. Alongside other
advertising strategies, DRTV has one of the fastest potentials to introduce and build a
brand via TV or radio. So what exactly is DRTV and how did it all started?
What is DRTV?

Direct response Television or DRTV is any Televison advertisement that asks the
audience to respond immediately to the company usually through calling a toll free
number or visiting a website.

There are 2 types of DRTV, Short form less than 2 minutes in length and long form
longer than 2 minutes. This was the form used since 1984 until the term “Infomercial”
was coined 1988.

Today the infomercial industry has changed and evolved immensely, It is no longer
composed of late night/ early morning programmes. It has gone to one of the most
efficient and effective ways to advertise and launch a certain product and Build a
brand.

Infomercial Production: Quality, Effectiveness and Cost

The production quality of an infomercial is an increasingly significant success factor.

In today’s digital media age, it is remarkably important to produce infomercials with
high quality video cameras and experienced and skilled team and talent. Over the past
2 decades, infomercials have engendered mixed reputation and reactions to
consumers. Riding the digital wave, today’s consumers are becoming more savvy and
tend to ignore poorly produced and vintage-look infomercials. Therefore, it is
important to choose the experts who can develop a plan that integrate the critical sales
elements that guarantee direct response success.

Effectiveness
Interestingly, producing infomercials have become tremendously popular and
successful today. As a result, sales of many businesses that incorporated infomercial
as part of their marketing strategy have soared significantly. But, why is it so
successful?

Words influence people in some degree. They create impact. When you hear calls to
action, you are somehow bound to be compelled in some extent. And that is what
these infomercials do best.

Through excellent script writing and storyboarding, they are able to draw the
consumers and viewers to make certain actions by their own choice of words. It is
also by nature, crafted to generate sales directly from the program to the media itself.
Take for example the line “Pick up your phone and order now!” which you often
heard during the show.

Cost
The cost associated with a direct response campaign is also an important factor to
consider. The average national infomercial cost for a long-form production (28.5
minutes) ranges from $164,000 to $753,000. On the other hand, short-form show (60-
120 seconds) is much cheaper – ranging from $38,000 to $292,000. These rates do not
include the talent fee yet. There are also other variables associated with infomercial
marketing that includes shooting venue, travel, processing, crew size and many
others.
Internet Marketing

The online or Internet Marketing are the advertisement or marketing efforts in the
internet like the social medias which businesses today usually do because it is very
accessible. There are three main specialized areas in Internet marketing, the Web
Marketing which refers to a broad category of advertising that takes many different
forms, but generally involves any marketing activity conducted online. The Email
Marketing that has evolved rapidly alongside the technological growth that has
occurred consistently throughout the 21st century, and the Social Media Marketing
that usually centre on efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages
readers to share it across their social networks.
Examples of Infomercial Ads

1) Purple

To highlight the benefits of this start up’s unique polymer mattress, the folks at
Harmon Brothers created the raw egg test -- "a super easy way to tell if your mattress
is awful."

In the infomercial, an actress dressed as Goldilocks adheres four raw eggs to the
underside of a 330-pound sheet of tempered glass, and then drops it onto a Purple
mattress to see if the eggs break. The eggs survive the drop onto the Purple mattress,
but crack when dropped onto traditional box spring models.

The demo is reminiscent of classic hard-sell infomercial presentations, but stays funny
and refreshing thanks to some well-timed quippy lines from Goldilocks. The
YouTube comments speak for themselves:

This is the first ad that actually entertained me... what just happened.
This is the best ad I’ve ever watched, I didn’t skip it.
The ad gained rapid viral attention, garnering 100 million views, 158,000 shares, and
overwhelming Purple's manufacturing with the sudden flux of online orders.

2) Chatbooks

When Chatbooks, a photo printing start up, needed a way to introduce consumers to
their company, they turned to Harmon Brothers. They needed a way to educate
consumers about the specifics of their service without boring them. The viral video
agency developed the perfect pitch-woman: a flustered "real mom" just trying to
balance work, kids, and managing a house without losing her mind.

Actress Lisa Valentine Clark dodges arrows, garbage disposal mishaps, and kids
jumping from windows in the brand's first infomercial, which has amassed over 20
million views and 243,000 shares on social media since its release in October. We
loved it so much we featured it in our October Ad Roundup.

The format was such a success for Chatbooks that they turned to Harmon Brothers
again to create a holiday themed infomercial. It definitely captures all the charm of
the original.

3) NERD Skincare

Utah-based agency Chamber.Media helped NERD Skincare launch their line of acne-
fighting products with an infomercial that combines a delightfully manic pitch-woman
with a real-life product demo.
The ad -- which was written by and stars comedian Laura Clery -- took cues from the
Harmon Brothers, delivering educational product info with a cartoonish flair that
keeps viewers interested.

So far, the strategy seems to be paying off. The video has picked up 2.7 million views
since its release in November, and led to eight-figure sales for NERD Skincare.

4) The Animal Foundation, Las Vegas

Is your alarm clock not enough to wake you up in the morning? You need Pet Cat: the
hottest new product from The Animal Foundation. But hurry! They're going fast.

R&R Partners created this fantastically overdone infomercial spoof to generate some
buzz for a Las Vegas-based animal shelter. They even developed a dog version.

5) Palace

Awkward cuts, bad green screen backgrounds, and cringe-worthy acting made this
faux-infomercial from Palace -- a London-based skateboard shop -- a viral hit.

Palace founder Lev Tanju recruited actor Jonah Hill to star in the two-minute spot,
which has over 300,000 views on Vimeo alone. "We just wanted to make something
really stupid," Tanju told Dazed. The whole video was produced in-house by Tanju
and his team.

The unconventional strategy ended up being a smart advertising approach. GQ called

the ad "the funnest fashion related ad of the year" in 2016, and it was covered by
major media outlets like Adweek, Forbes, and Fast Company.

6) GE Lighting

It's not just startups and smaller companies trying out the infomercial trend -- big
names like GE are also giving them a spin.

Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim (aka Tim & Eric) created this goofy two-minute
spot in collaboration with BBDO New York. Starring actor Jeff Goldblum as fake
"famous person" Terry Quattro, the infomercial introduces GE's line of long-lasting
LED lightbulbs with all the deadpan weirdness you'd expect from a Tim & Eric
production.

7) Squatty Potty

Called the "The Greatest Viral Ad in Internet History," this infomercial propelled a
little-known toilet accessory startup to mainstream fame.
Produced by the Harmon Brothers, the ad features a handsome prince discussing the
importance of colon health -- using an ice-cream pooping unicorn as an example. The
offbeat premise generated a ton of interest in Squatty Potty, and in the first four
months alone, the ad was watched 66 million times and shared one million times on
Facebook.

Examples of Commercial Ads

Equinox Ad Ideas
1. Reference Pop-Culture
Of course, an advertisement featuring Kim Kardashian should lead into pop-culture
references. Depending on your audience, you could make a sly reference to Marilyn
(a la Snickers), a popular movie, or blatantly make fun of a famous star’s dance
moves.
https://youtu.be/86D7AGm5sHk

Stamp Business Card as an Ad

2. Try a Jingle
As annoying as jingles are when they’re stuck in your head, coming up with a smart,
catchy jingle is a great way to get creative with your advertisements.
https://youtu.be/0nkcVz1mad0

Scrabble Advertisement
3. Go Retro
A creative way to reminisce about bad nighttime television: remake a commercial
selling your product a la 1999.
https://youtu.be/sXoRZfClf0Q

4. Inspire through Video

Inspirational commercials are a tried-and-true way to have people engage and share.
An easy way to do this is to sponsor a charitable organization or a drive.
https://youtu.be/v8nyGzOLsdw
List of the 10 most memorable (and sometimes most outrageous) infomercials of all time.

10
Ginsu Steak Knives
When the Ginsu infomercial premiered in the late '70s, audiences were entranced by
the miraculous Japanese knife that could cut through a tin can then slice through a
ripe tomato like butter. But Ginsu wasn't miraculous. It wasn't even Japanese. It was
instead the brainchild of marketing whizzes Ed Valenti and Barry Becher, who were
trying to increase sales of an ordinary kitchen knife called Eversharp. They changed
the name to "Ginsu," added a Japanese chef to the infomercial and launched a
television icon. Years later, Valenti proclaimed Ginsu his "greatest advertising
success" [source: Associated Press]. The Ginsu infomercial was even parodied in
John Belushi's Samurai Deli on "Saturday Night Live."

9
Jack LaLanne Power Juicer
Jack LaLanne's bodybuilding fame gave him a leg up hawking a juicer.
Jack LaLanne's bodybuilding fame gave him a leg up hawking a juicer.
GEORGE ROSE/-GETTY IMAGES
When an eternally youthful fitness guru promises that you'll look and feel younger
just by squeezing some fruits and vegetables into a glass -- you listen. After all, this is
Jack LaLanne, the guy who launched the fitness movement in the United States by
flexing his carefully toned pecs on the very first TV workout show in the 1950s. This
is also the guy who, to celebrate his 70th birthday, swam a mile (1.6 kilometers) while
pulling 70 boats carrying 70 people [source: NNDB]. Now in his 90s, he's still active -
- at least on late-night TV. Proving that he's still got it, LaLanne has sold more than 1
million of his Power Juicers [Business Week].

8
The Snuggie

Who hasn't grappled with the baffling question of how to keep warm while watching
TV, yet still keep one's hands free to man the remote? Thank goodness an oversized
fleece blanket with sleeves came along in 2008 to solve this perplexing problem.
(Actually, another company put out a similar product called the Slanket in 1998, but it
never garnered the same cult following.) Never mind that everyone in the commercial
looks like red-cloaked monks, the Snuggie is selling like hotcakes. It has become
something of a pop culture phenomenon -- the fodder of Internet blogs, YouTube
parodies and late-night TV comedy routines. Even the "Today" show's Al Roker, Matt
Lauer and Meredith Vieira cozied up for the camera in their Snuggies. All of this
attention has helped sell 4 million of the blankets [source: Salkin]. That should keep
the Snuggie's manufacturer warm for years to come.

7
Miss Cleo's Psychic Hotline
Miss Cleo (and her psychic hotline) turned out to be a scam. Florida attorney general
Bob Butterworth mimics her style as he announces his intent to file suit against the
company.
Miss Cleo (and her psychic hotline) turned out to be a scam. Florida attorney general
Bob Butterworth mimics her style as he announces his intent to file suit against the
company.
AP PHOTO/PHIL COALE

The questionable psychic with the dubious Jamaican accent was queen of the
infomercial circuit back in the late 1990s, when she enticed viewers to call her 900
number and pay $4.99 a minute for a glimpse of their future. Her seemingly exotic
perso-na and offers of a "free readin'" generated plenty of calls, until the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) and Florida's attorney general cracked down on the
hotline's owner, Access Resource Services, for making false advertising claims. After
paying $500 million back to customers and forking over a $5 million fine to the FTC,
the psychic hotline was out of business. But who was Miss Cleo really? Investigators
uncovered a birth certificate revealing that this supposed shaman from the Caribbean
was actually actress Youree Dell Harris, born in the far less exotic locale of Los
Angeles, Calif. [source: The Smoking Gun]. Wonder whether Miss Cleo ever
predicted how far she'd fall?

6
Sweating to the Oldies
Richard Simmons became a fitness guru by selling workout videos that featured
ordinary folks (not raisins).
Richard Simmons became a fitness guru by selling workout videos that featured
ordinary folks (not raisins).
CATHERINE MCGANN/-GETTY IMAGES
Workout guru Richard Simmons was a formerly overweight kid who lost more than
100 pounds (45 kilograms) and decided to use his success to cheerlead the rest of the
country into its skinny jeans. In the mid-1980s, he capitalized on the idea that many
big-boned Americans were sick of seeing waiflike models in their exercise videos and
were tired of trying to keep up with grueling workout regimens. So Simmons donned
his signature tank top and short shorts, surrounded himself with a group of zaftig
exercisers and created a program that was both easy to follow and featured songs
grandma could dance to. He sweated his way straight to infomercial gold, selling
more than 20 million copies of his workout videos [source: Richard Simmons.com].

5
Tony Little's Gazelle
The sight of muscle-bound, ponytailed fitness pro Tony Little trotting away on his
Gazelle and screaming about how much he was working his "but-tocks!" in this 2001
infomercial definitely raised some eyebrows. But when Tony mounted the Gazelle
behind Darla Haun and started riding with her to prove the machine could hold both
their weights, this infomercial started to look a lot like a soft-core porn video. The
close-up shots of women's behinds in tight workout shorts and men's naked torsos
only added to the image. Whether it was because of the sexy come-on, or the
screaming chants of "Yeah baby," Tony had our attention.
4
Magic Bullet
You've got to love the storyline of the Magic Bullet infomercial: A couple, Mick and
Mimi, invite a few friends over for a party. The next morning, they all gather in the
kitchen (which looks suspiciously like a television studio) for breakfast. Their friend
Berman staggers in hungover, wearing last night's clothes. A frumpy woman in a
housedress named Hazel shuffles in with a cigarette dangling from her mouth.

Mick and Mimi are surprisingly perky, considering the state of their guests. They
proceed to entertain their friends with the wonders of a tiny, bullet-shaped food
processor called the Magic Bullet. While the guests look on in utter amazement and
delight, the Magic Bullet whips smoothies, grinds coffee, mixes muffins and
scrambles omelets -- and that's just the appetizer. Every dish is perfectly prepared in
just 10 seconds or less. Sounds too good to be true, but millions bought the message.
The $60 Magic Bullet brought in nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in sales in just
over a year. The infomercial has been translated into dozens of languages and has
been sold in 60 different countries [source: Hopkins].

3
Stop the Insanity!
Susan Powter urged the infomercial-watching masses to "Stop the
insanity!"-
Susan Powter urged the infomercial-watching masses to "Stop the insanity!"-
TAMMIE ARROYO/GETTY IMAGES

With her blonde hair cut shorter than a drill sergeant's, and her throaty yell urging
everyone to "Stop the insanity!" Susan Powter became an infomercial icon. Dubbed
the "Lenny Bruce of Wellness," Powter ranted against the ills of dieting and urged us
that there were no fat people -- just unfit people who maybe had a little extra around
the middle. After her reign in the early 1990s, Susan disappeared from the radar, but
today this diet and fitness guru is back. She's still got the spiky do, but the message
has been toned down a bit. Instead of stopping the insanity, now Powter just wants us
to "Eat, breathe, move and think." Sounds pretty easy

2
ThighMaster
Suzanne Somers shows off her famously toned physique as she's honored with a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-
Suzanne Somers shows off her famously toned physique as she's honored with a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-
VINCE BUCCI/GETTY IMAGES

After five years of playing the ditzy Chrissy Snow on "Three's Company," followed
by a few lesser-known roles, it looked like Suzanne Somers' career had come to a
crashing halt. Then along came the infamous infomercial with the famous shot of
Somers sitting on a couch, squeezing a butterfly-shaped exercise device between her
thighs. The spot had men salivating and women reaching for their purses. Though the
ThighMaster became major fodder for late-night talk show hosts (David Letterman
featured it on one of his "Top 10" lists), Somers had the last laugh, selling some 10
million ThighMasters in 120 countries around the world [sources: Piccalo and
McGinn]. She turned her infomercial run into a veritable empire, churning out 300
different products, including jewellery, skin care items and clothing. Who knew
Chrissy would turn out to be such a brilliant businesswoman?

1
Ronco GLH Formula #9 Spray-on Hair
Ron Popeil's rapid-fire style set the tone for a generation of infomercials.
Ron Popeil's rapid-fire style set the tone for a generation of infomercials.
AP PHOTO/REED SAXON
Th

Future of Advertising

With the new sources of user data, the only way is forward. These new sources
include:

Biometric data, from advanced smartphones and security systems that use
fingerprints, facial recognition or retinal scans. Behavioural data, collected by
wearables, eye-tracking cameras or similar devices. Voice samples, recorded by smart
speakers, smart displays and all other voice-controlled devices.
Both law and technology can provide users with tools to control their data better. And
advertisers will have to be more open, honest, and selective when gathering data.
Location of servers, and to be more specific, the jurisdiction which they fall under,
will also influence the future of advertising.

The AI-produced information

The big and yet unaddressed unknown are the outcomes produced by automatic, AI-
powered systems. By looking for patterns in scraps of user data, automatic systems
will be able to predict user behavior to a bigger extent than a user may have consented
to. Both users and advertisers don’t know the full scope of information that can be
derived from seemingly-innocent user data.

The last point to make here is the opt-out option. It is still relatively easy to resign and
withdraw one’s consent to the data storage. But if one’s data is used to train AI, the
deletion of the source data may not be enough. The results such AI delivers will be
somehow influenced by data that a company has no longer rights to.

Everything that was mentioned above gives merely a glimpse into the challenges that
lawmakers and, consequently, users and advertisers will have to face in the coming
years. New regulations are inevitable.

The Second Dimension: The Technical Challenges And Opportunities

Now it’s time for the future to hit us with the coolest devices it has: VR/AR glasses,
smart assistants, gadgets you previously didn’t know existed but now desperately
crave for… wait, no? Won’t that be the biggest change happening in the next decade?
This new tech will obviously give advertisers new channels to reach their customers,
but probably the most important tech innovations will be less spectacular.

Connecting the dots

Even now when we speak of marketing channels, we think of separate campaigns. We

use similar creatives and content, but ‘email’ and ‘mobile’ channels aren’t directly
connected. But it’s not how the real people use the Internet.

They have various devices. They start reading a web page on a laptop and finish it on
a mobile device. They cast media on their TVs and ask their smart displays questions.
The shopping list is written on a smart fridge and brought up on a smartwatch when
they enter a store.

images of various gadget and devices

There are many possible touchpoints, i.e. interactions with a product, in the modern
world. To build a meaningful connection with a user, you have to be visible in many
channels and, what is even more important, track users’ journeys across multiple
platforms and devices.

The cost model of tomorrow is not click-centric, but user-centric.

The future tracking platforms will allow you to map the entire history of users’
interactions, get data on all the touchpoints and adjust your messaging accordingly.

So the biggest technical advancement will allow to offer a consistent and unifying
marketing experience to users.

New marketing channels and 5G

Joining various points becomes an even more pressing matter when you take into
account all the new ways of how users will be able to interact with your brand.

Imagine presenting your product in a virtual or augmented reality. Imagine smart

assistants proactively promoting your offers. Imagine your ads shown on TVs, fridges
or microwave ovens’ displays. In ten years, IoT or smart devices will simply become
just devices. Their online capabilities will be so obvious that no one will even bother
to mention them.

The adoption of the 5G technology will allow to present your ads in a much higher
quality. Think 8K or 360 videos, 3D models, 100 MP images and so on.

Taking advantage of this will require new creative approac

The way you advertise is going to change—dramatically—thanks to artificial

intelligence. You can already start to see the transformation happening right now. In
fact, modern digital advertising as we know it today wouldn’t exist without AI.
Behind most online ads are sophisticated delivery systems powered by AI
technologies. These systems place ads in front of internet users. The coordination
process happens in real-time, and is largely automatic. It’s called programmatic
advertising. With programmatic, AI is used to profile visitors to a website or app, then
that information is used to target and deliver ads thanks to a complicated network of
platforms and services that play different roles at each stage of the ad supply chain.
You don’t need to understand the tech behind programmatic to understand this: AI-
powered programmatic advertising is a dominant form of digital advertising today. In
fact, it’s predicted that more than 86% of US display ads will be “bought via
automated channels,” according to eMarketer. And eight in 10 mobile display ads are
already bought programmatically.
AI also powers the advertising products offered by Google and Facebook. Those
firms captured a full 90% of new advertising business in 2017.Today, brands are able
to advertise online efficiently at scale thanks to artificial intelligence.

But this is just the beginning. Because scale alone isn’t enough. Brands are under
more pressure than ever to deliver advertising that is relevant, contextual, and
personalized to individual consumer preferences. As it turns out, the only way to do
so may be by using artificial intelligence—and that will have significant implications
for the advertising industry.

Why brands fail to advertise effectively Anyone who’s closed a pop-up ad or ignored
a banner ad—which is everybody—knows that online consumers are still bombarded
with largely irrelevant messages. Despite the scale provided by artificial intelligence
in advertising, advertisers still fail more often than not to provide relevant ads at the
right time to the right people. It’s why ad blockers are in vogue And it’s why plenty of
brands have brought programmatic in-house to avoid problems with their ads showing
up on sites with offensive content.

Which Model is better Infomercial or Commercial?

According to me both the models are better in their own ways. It depends on the
product whether it needs infomercial advertising or Commercial advertising. For
example if a product needs more description for its marketing then it will opt for
infomercial advertising where it will get more time to market whereas if a product can
be advertised in 30 sec or a product which does not need much of a detailed
description then we should opt for the commercial advertisement.
Source of Information:

1) Economic Times article

2) Shopify.com
3) Wisegeek.com
4) Mike Kaput articles
5) Michał Schindler articles
6) Various videos from Youtube
7) Info graphic production
8) Amie Martin articles
9) Infomercialconsulting.com
10) Philip Kotler articles
11) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282222422