A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often

with little intrinsic value.[1][2] When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature
designed to make a product or service "stand out" from its competitors. Product gimmicks are
sometimes considered mere novelties, and tangential to the product's functioning. Gimmicks are
occasionally viewed negatively, but some seemingly trivial gimmicks of the past have evolved into
useful, permanent features.

Etymology

The origin of the term "gimmick" is uncertain. Etymologists suggest that the term emerged in the
United States in the early twentieth century. The Oxford Dictionary suggests that it may have
originally been a slang term for something that a con artist or magician manipulated to make
appearances different from reality and gradually changed its meaning to refer to any ‘piece of
magicians' apparatus’. The word itself may be an approximate anagram of the word magic.[3]
Another possible origin is that it may have come into use among the gaming tables, where it came to
refer to "a device used for making a fair game crooked".[4] The term first appeared in American
newspapers in the 1910s and 1920s.[5]