Both radio and TV have their “infommercials” the nominal description of “long form commercials”.
They are heard after hours and over the weekend, pitching fish oil and exercise machines.
Both radio and TV have their “infommercials” the nominal description of “long form commercials”.
They are heard after hours and over the weekend, pitching fish oil and exercise machines.
They are done in the form of talk shows and mimic actual programs.
I myself invented the infommercial in the 1980s but mine were on cassette rather than radio. They mimicked radio.
Not knowing that I had invented infommercials, someone else invented them independently and I never wrote them a cease and desist letter.
Neither one of us knew that the world’s first infommercial was done in the 1920s, just before the FCC banned long form commercials, a ban that was lifted in the 80s.
Of course the name is a contraction of the words “information” and “commercial”.
The Low Power Hour is a non-commercial infommercial, and I try to think of a shorter contracted way of saying that.
But enough of the build up, here’s what I want to say.
Part 15 stations need to contact the companies that place infommercials. They pay for the air time. See where I’m going with this?
You can have your good programs all day, but why not sell the late hours to long vitamin programs and get rich schemes?
Don’t forget religions. Many of them buy airtime for their branded long form messages too.
Turn your radio station into a cash machine.
Not On K-Rocks
Infomercials? Nope!
However airing programs that purchase airtime is something I currently do..both internationally and locally. These are either music programs or alternative news programs.
It’s a fair living.
RFB
More of Them Being Heard
A 5kW station that previously talked for days without stopping about salvation which comes to dead people is lately running more and more informmercials (for living people). They’ve got the fish oil and vitamins.
And a 50 kW station that ran paid religion has spent most of today running infommercials, I heard one for a really great mattress.
I get the sense that the age of the infommercial might be arriving and it sounds like the stations are really desperate. So am I.
Other Reasons
I’m sure that if the economy were actually fixed and real actual jobs created here, that even the vendors in those infomercials will make a buck or two…as would the stations running them as well as seeing an increase in regular advertising.
When people have money to spend, the economy is good.
When people have to choose between dinner and keeping the lights on, stations also have to decide do we shut er down or load er up with infomercials.
Improvise..overcome..adapt.
Not much left to adapt to anymore.
RFB
Nothing to Adapt To
According to informed sources everything is now against the law.
To find out whether this is true, I made a list of things that are still legal. Here is that list:
– Part 15 radio broadcasting;
– Being perplexed.
That’s it.
– Part 15 radio broadcasting
– Part 15 radio broadcasting and Being perplexed.
That’s one in the same isn’t it?
Brilliant!
Rich Powers is the cartoon philosopher and I love that fusion of part 15 and perlextion.
There’s no way to deny it.
Whole days go by in perplexions over part 15.