What do infomercials have to do with the Grammy Awards? Nothing on the surface. But it ocured to me that in 2012 at least honest and simple seems to win the game, rather than gimmicks and pageantry. And that same philosophy may hold true for infomercials.
Some people in the infomercial world (or in the general advertising world as well) confuse large budgets with large ideas. A big budget with special effects, celebrities, fireworks does not necessarily do better with the public than simple, clear, direct messaging.
At the Grammy Awards, Adele, a talented singer, walked away with an award in every category she was in. She is a bit plump, a bit plain, seemingly humble and stands there just singing her heart out. You feel the emotion. She does not need crazy outfits, blue hair, foot long fingernails or nearly nude attire to command attention and connect with the audience. Infomercials are much the same way. Sometimes a simple, direct, emotional and real approach can win someone over to try a product. An infomercial with a strong premise, a simple message and a clear solution can be very motivating.
Creativity in infomercials can involve positioning, offer structure, market segmentation, etc. It does not have to mean a crazy, wacky approach that can confuse or even lose an audience. Emotion sells. Always has. Always will. Emotion beats effects every time. Unlike Superbowl advertising, whose intent it is to make you laugh, even if you never remember what the product was , infomercials should educate, inform and inspire a purchasing decision. And, hopefully, if a consumer sees an infomercial, they will remember what the product was at the very least.
So I use Adele as inspiration. She may not have the perfect body, perfect outfit, perfect speech, but she sure captures attention. And she won me over in a very big way, snot and all.
I also took great offense that Chris Brown was allowed to perform, considering that he is a convicted abuser. I guess it is kind of like allowing Kevin Trudeau to continue to do infomercials. I found it in very poor taste and was hopefully not the only one who did. At least the Grammy show ended with all the old time greats jamming. There are also some parallels to infomercials here. Sometimes the veteran infomercial producers can outshine the newbies, as they have staying power and still know how to capture that elusive consumer.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Posted by avaseavey 
