A man walks into a room. A women smiles at him, holds up new blender, and they smile at each other cheesily. And they used to call this advertising? It’s any wonder that the only place you find some products (mostly pointless) is at the 2-3 o’clock afternoon hour on a random cable station channel. But, on the other hand, who hasn’t sat through a gripping half-hour presentation of a rotisserie fruit peeler and strangely has the desire to call 1-888-4669 ‘for yours today?’
It’s a phenomenon that has baffled scientists for ages, until they just decided to leave the question be, and give in and buy it like the rest of us. Granted, now all of our houses are full of random one-use appliances that you might need sometime if you wanted to have the ‘perfect sit-up’, or needed the assistance of a magical non-cook microwave. But, this is nothing to be ashamed of. Or is it? Ironically, those that know ‘the secrets of advertising’ often fall victim to one of the classic blunders—never mess with an infomercial when you’re hungry, tired, or feeling just plain vulnerable.
But perhaps this is like trying to shun the un-shunnable, or avoid the un-avoidable. Some things we just need to embrace in life—burgers are unhealthy, cats shed hair, and infomercials sell products that most of us didn’t even know existed— or that the world needed their existence in the first place. Perhaps this can be a call to action to all whose personal Kryptonite is the dreaded infomercial—you have the power to turn off the TV and tell yourself, ‘I don’t need it. I don’t want it. I will not call now.’ Or if your life has been enriched by these seemingly harmless vices, by all means, keep watching, and may heavens eyes shine kindly upon your future garage sales.
