Down the Rabbit Hole with Infomercials

Okay, so where am I?

Most of my regular readers know I am always on the search for that Big Idea. It's something I learned the importance of from a, intimate David Ogilvy talkback I scored tickets through a viscous corporate ladder climber I was dating at the time. Research and writing were the keys back then. Still are if you wan to know the truth. Today I am humbled by the announcement of my 12th and 13th lifetime Telly Awards. These are the super elite Gold Awards. I am honored to have such a great team around me to make this possible and elated those long hours looking for the “Big Idea” continue to pay off.

Here's the official Gold Award Winners Reel:

Reveling in these awards, sent me down a rabbit hole remembering one of my first big award, a local Emmy Award for an infomercial of sorts for my work with the legendary Pat Summerall on a United Airlines partnership I dreamed up when I was back at Leslie's Swimming Pool Supplies (laugh all you want about Leslie's and their name, but they had almost 500 stores across the States and they were a monster). Surely I wish I had a copy of this spot, but like many things pre-digital age, it's lost in the ether. My informercial was entirely different that the hallmarks of the informercial that aired late night before cable hit its stride.

Infomercials gained steam in the 1980s as a popular advertising medium after getting its start as a long-form 1940s Vitamix blender commercial. In the 1970s, the advertising format skyrocketed in San Diego (stay classy!) with a one-hour show running Sunday television. In 1982, the infomercials us older crown know and love aired, specifically for hair growth and restoration treatments. Then in 1984, the FCC regulations imposing time limits on advertising were lifted and they really soared. Couple that with the boon in self-help products and home cooking aids and it was game on.

Here's a rundown of my top infomericals:

Suzanne Somers
"ThighMaster"

Suzanne Somers was the mostly dimwitted blonde on “Three’s Company.” We didn't hear much from her after a holdout cost her the sweet gig on the popular sitcom and then all of the sudden she was back holding down court on late-night squeezing the odd-shaped ThighMaster between your legs. Women couldn't get enough (they sold 1o million units) and adolescent boys were glued to their television screens.

The Clapper
"Clap On, Clap Off"

Before smartphones and the real Internet, The Clapper introduced millions to the concept of home automation which begs the question: would Alexa exist without it?

Life Call
"I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!"

Back in the day, I was in the room and help conceptualize the iconic "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!" commercial spot for Life Call. Yes we were laughed at. Yes, they wanted to fire us. Yes, they sold millions of units. Yes, they still run the same concepts today. No, I didn't get any royalties. Bugger!

Hair Club for Men
“I’m not only the Hair Club president, I’m also a client.”

Sy Sperling used the signature catch phrase, “I’m not only the Hair Club president, I’m also a client,” to sign off his Hair Club for Men infomercials. He was on television so much that I'm sure many college fraternities used his spots for drinking games. After an endorsement from Ron Blomberg of the New York Yankees his hair club was greeted with "instant success" raking in $100 million annual in its peak years.

The "Gazelle" with Tony Little

The ponytailed Little with the hugh thighs called himself “America’s Personal Trainer.” Actually he's probably the "World's Personal Trainer" as his infomercials have aired in 81 different countries, selling almost 50 million fitness-related products. This 48-minute informercial ran almost nightly at one point:

RONCO

Ron Pompeil was the man. Nothing was out of his seller's hands: pasta machines, pocket fishing poles, smokeless ashtrays, pray-on hair, food dehydrators, BBQ machines, devices that scrambled eggs inside their shells. You name it, he sold it. Here's a sweet thirty minute spot for his Showtime BBQ and Rotisserie:

"OxiClean" with Billy Mays

When the loud, bearded Billy Mays hit your screen hawking hawking the mysterious powdered substance OxiClean, you listened. I mean how can he get red wine out of anything when you cannot? And the ad copy? It's amazing!:

It's amazing! Watch how OxiClean unleashes the power of oxygen making tough stains disappear like magic without fading or bleeding the colors. For pet messes, OxiClean is a must; it goes deep down, below the surface to get rid of the stain and the odor. Have you ever spilled chlorine bleach on your colored clothes? Well OxiClean is tough on stains without the damaging effects of chlorine bleach. If you save one pair of jeans, then OxiClean has paid for itself. Some clothes say no chlorine bleach, but OxiClean safely removes the stain, even on baby's clothes, it's the stain remover for the things that you love. Add a scoop of OxiClean to every load of laundry; it'll boost the stain removing power of your detergent. Don't just clean it, OxiClean it!

Watch the wonders of Oxiclean:

The TV Station Sign-off: Six Wasted Hours of Ad Revenue

Today, it's impossible to image the you could turn on the television and find nothing to watch. Yes, TV stations would simply shut down for the night. Back in the day, it cost too much to run programming overnight to a small audience without advertising revenue. Of course, the infomercial solved that problem.

Someone was always up last night, namely Hair Club president Sy Sperling or Suzanne Somers pimping her ThighMaster (but infomercials are part two of this column - coming soon!). Before that, the transmitter, located on a nearby mountaintop, would stop transmitting signals your television picture would go to static, Poltergeist-style. Then, in the fifties and sixties, television stations started to use the now famous RCA Indian Head test pattern. Instead of going to static, they would sign-off at the end of the day's programming was over and place this test pattern:

I always believe this test pattern was just a placeholder, however, it had a definitive purpose. Little did we know that that everything had a purpose. Test signals helped maintain the reception and display quality of the black and white analog televisions. Tt was used to measure the resolution of the signal then align the receiver to get the best possible picture (if that was possible before HDTV):

Here's a 1950's Phillips television showing a version of the test pattern sign off card:

In the late fifties, it dawned on station managers that this was valuable media real estate began adding their their station call letters for extra branding.

But then the stations added a video of a waving American flag playing the Star Spangled Banner and the whole paradigm shifted. Here's my all-time favorite sign-off from my local television station, channel 9, KHJ-TV:

A search around YouTube netted me some more TV station sign-offs, each with a regional flavor you would expect. 

WPVI-6 Philadelphia—The "cradle of liberty, first capital of the United States" leaned on American history with an orchestra blasting "America the Beautiful" as a camera swoops around the City of Brotherly Love...

KING-5 Seattle—Wild animals roam the wilderness as choir sings to the skies (as all Pacific Northwest sign-offs should). Hard to believe this was 1985...

KTZO-20 San Francisco—This affiliate showcased its employees via a dated montage and then turned the mic over to Jeanette MacDonald who sings "San Francisco" over aerial shots of the city.

WDIV-4 Detroit—Watch the local sign-off with an early nod to religious diversity. I'm sure you digg the Motown synthesizer version of the national anthem.

Team with the Royals to Boost your Brand

Okay so where am I?

I just opened the mail and declared that sometimes the USPS delivers some pretty things! In today's mail was lovely letter from the 25th Annual Communicator Awards honoring excellence in Marketing and Communications. Whenever you get a letter from an awarding body that starts with "CONGRATULATIONS!" it's got to be good. In this case it was better. My recent work earned their Award of Excellence (top award) in the Marketing Effectiveness category. Needless to say, I am thrilled beyond belief.

This got me thinking about personal branding and branding in general. You know who has great branding? The Royal Family of England, that's who.

Did you know that the Royal Family has its own website? They do. The address is “royal.uk” (catchy, right?), and it’s not your typical government website. While “whitehouse.gov” has some character, in terms of charm and personality, it pales in comparison to our UK counterpart.

According to Business Inside the Royal Family was worth just under $90 billion—contributing roughly $2.4 billion to the UK economy each year—though after the birth of Prince Louis and after Prince Harry’s recent nuptials, the dynasty’s value has undoubtedly surged.

Even more staggering than the family’s monetary value is their soaring popularity. In an age when the word “monarchy” feels archaic and out-of-style, Elizabeth II and her heirs maintain a massive global audience, and that acclaimed Netflix series devoted to The Queen. You could say Nielsen data don’t lie: Meghan and Harry’s wedding was watched by more than 29 million viewers in the U.S. alone. The Super Bowl might have them beat (the most recent bowl amassed over 103 million), but most brands would kill for that many spectators spread across 15 separate networks.

Most of the fascination is due to the fairy tale nature of it all and the desperate need for escapist television in this highly political (see: contentious) era. But we can’t ignore the fact that the Royal Family has cultivated this business for decades, and their branding is intentional and strategic. So, while your company may not reap the benefits of being one of the most iconic families in modern day history, there are still some things to learn from the Royals.

The Media Guy might know a thing or two about the Royals.

Up Close and Personal —More than anything, the Royal Family website is unabashedly personal, rife with smiling close-ups of the principal cast of characters. The site depicts the Queen and the rest of the royal cast as outgoing, generally cheery people who happen to exist in this opulent setting. It reinforces the argument that businesses should not back away from personality; the more your customers learn about you and your team on a personal level, the more trust they’ll develop in your brand. Whether you write copy in the first person, offer up opinions in your tweets, or publish your personal excursions on Instagram, you’ll inadvertently give your brand some much-needed authenticity.

Media Matters —The Royal Family’s site is not elaborate by any means, but it is populated with rich, varied content. The photos are a blend of formal, casual and candid, while the videos depict major milestones, provide unique perspectives on televised events, and offer behind-the-scenes looks at the happenings around Buckingham and Windsor. Scrolling through, you’re reminded how much we rely on visuals to fully understand a brand.

Luxury Hasn't Died, It Has Evolved —When the Luxury Marketing Council Worldwide gathered at Manhattan’s Pierre Hotel in 2018, the powers that be determined, not surprisingly, that modern luxury is all about “experience.” Scanning their well-curated Instagram page, it’s no doubt that the marketing masters behind the Royal Family are intent on delivering precisely that. From YouTube videos of Kate’s charitable acts to shots of Prince Harry high-fiving crowds of fans on the street… with each post, the Royal Family proves that luxury is about delivering riveting, relevant experiences and convincing your customers that they’re living each one firsthand.

Infusing your brand with personality can feel like a major risk. Your instinct might be that “personal” and “business” don’t mix…or that your daily life is not relevant to the products or services you’re offering. Trust the Media Guy, research shows that modern consumers want to know the names and faces behind their jeans, their socks, their music streaming services, and, if the Queen herself can pose for the occasional publicity photo and share her experiences with millions of viewers around the globe, then we can all do the same.