Its hard to turn on the TV today and not see commercials for some of the biggest ripoff schemes in existence. From Get Rich Quick schemes around the internet, around trading stocks, around real estate and anything else scam artists can think of, to get fit, get trim, get pretty, get studly, get this, that and the other, rip off commercials are in full force these days.
Why are they on TV ?
There are few rules in business that are simpler and easier to understand than "DONT RIP OFF YOUR CUSTOMERS". Why is it that TV stations and networks and I need to include radio as well, have no problem running commercials that are blatant hustles of one sort or another ?
If you ever need an example of short term thinking at the expense of long term value, this is it.
Here we are at a point in time when the value of the traditional 30 second ad is being questioned and reconsidered because of industry wide fears that consumers will just TIVO right past them, yet the same industry places and runs commercials with a guy in a dollar suit sign running around selling a book that is questionable at best on how to get money from the government. Why ?
How stupid can you be to run these commercials ? Do you not realize that its not a commercial for the product, its a commercial to reduce the value of the brand of your station or network ?
HDNet wont run informercials or any ripoff commercials. We don't need or want their money and I would rather go without commercials than run them. My viewers are my customers. For some reason that is a strange concept to stations and networks these days. They would rather squeek out a commission on herbal enhancement pills and end up with a poorer, upset viewer than run a show without commercial breaks. Thats ridiculous. Its a brand killer
How about this for a concept: If you havent sold a commercial, dont run a commercial. The lack of a spot will hurt your bottom line far less than running a spot to ripoff your customers
Ripoff Commercials = Stupid TV Stations and Networks
Reader Comments
(Page 2)22. It is free enterprise. Anybody can sell anything they want within reason; as long as no one gets hurt. Buyer beware, blah, blah, blah.
From the station's point of view, revenue is revenue and if they can exceed what normal ads bring in with an infomercial it becomes a valid option.
You are strictly speaking ethics of course. I frankly agree with you, but could care less. Seriously.
Oh btw, update your copyright notice on the blog Mark - still reflecting 2006.
23. it is arrogance. the same arrogance that makes tv execs think 'they' know the internet better than the internet players. the same arrogance that prevent them from maximizing their content revenue by partnering w/key internet players.
good to see u don't share that arrogance... or at least until YouTube is mentioned :)
24. Mr. Cuban, this is why I love you... to put it simply, you are brilliant :)
Posted at 9:50PM on Apr 22nd 2007 by Cyndi
25. It's been pointed out by way better posters than me above, but this is a pretty relativistic argument.
One can argue that the anti-aging cream being sold by major cosmetics firm X using 18 year old model Y as an example of what to expect from the product is a prime example of a rip-off - i.e. she doesn't use the product - and as she is 18, does not need it. Or the RGX commercials with the hot chick - the implication being that the hot girl will dig you in RGX, etc. The purpose of commercials is to point out/create insufficiency and hawk a solution - its improbability of success be damned (see lottery tickets). IMO the difference here is really production values and subtlety. In fact, I'll argue that a late night proactiv commercial/infomercial with real untouched before and after photos has more integrity than a revlon commercial starring supermodel du jour.
That said, there are some infomercials that pitch awesome products, like those girls gone wild lasses scantily pursuing higher ed.
All of which to say - commercials are what they are - a brainfsck - some are subtle and smooth like Glenlivet, others are straight shots of 151. Guess you're a glenlivet kind of guy.
Posted at 10:36PM on Apr 22nd 2007 by blyx
26. I dont know about the girls gone wild commercials...but you hit it right on the spot, and I think you should take those same values to the cell phone industry because these large companies continue to go further and further away from what the customer needs and wants.
Posted at 11:56PM on Apr 22nd 2007 by Adam Pritchard
27. So how does a station get around the TIVO factor? Will we start to see all channels with ads framed around the picture like we sometimes see with soccer games (and was also satirized in the film "Idiocracy")?
Posted at 12:40AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by Bill
28. Right behind that rule should be DONT YELL AT YOUR CUSTOMERS. I don't understand how advertisers/stations (whoever is behind it) can get away with the blatant increase in the volume of the audio. You're cruising along watching a program at a comfortable level only to be consistently attacked by a BLARING commercial. Happens every time I turn on the tv.
Posted at 2:05AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by cw
29. Mark,
While I agree wholeheartedly with the need to take care of customers, are you really in a position to determine what is and isn't a ripoff? I realize that some scams are more obvious than others but if you start to "edit" your assortment of commercials, won't your consumers assume that the commercials that you do run are on the up and up? What if one isn't? Unless you're doing in depth research on all prospective advertisers, I think you're potentially doing more harm than good to your viewers if they assume that you're protecting them from con artists.
Mark B.
30. honestly, what is the average american going to be able to watch at three in the morning. BOOM! welcome to the world of infomercials. sure they arent realistic or probable, BUT HEY they are entertaining as hell. yes they are stupid and yes they are ridiculous. (go mavericks not a cheap plug). the world is full of ripoffs. how would anybody ever make money if it wasnt? im not saying that its wrong, im just saying that its true. people see an idea and build on it. one becomes another and that one becomes another until an epidemic of ideas, right or wrong, is being presented. is this also not considered plagerism? (off topic)
heres a thought...originality isnt dead and i cant wait to prove it.
thanks for your time
andrew
p.s. - golden state is sitting in the eye of the storm.
Posted at 5:46AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by andrew
31. The reason for runing these commercials is plain and simple - they bring money and viewer will blame manufacturer not the station.
If you buy a miracle balm to get youself thin and you actually stay as soggy in the waist area as you were before - you will either blame yourself or the company you bough the product from.
Stations here are just the message carriers - and you do not kill the messenger, right ?
Posted at 6:28AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by L'e-szczur
32. Well said Mark. I think the same thing when I wake up in the morning and flip past BET, who around 6:30 am mountain time show a Don Stewart infomercial. Stewart is a white televangelist who hucks green prayer cloths with the implication they'll bring prosperity and healing. What they mean by prosperity is riches, showing shots of cars and mansions. You get the cloth for free, then they ask for money to fulfill the healing. Then they'll cut to shots from one of his "revival" meetings, which seem to be in urban churches with largely black congregations. They fall all over themselves to talk about how the prayer cloths and Stewart healed them or got them rich. It's an obvious ploy in the model of BET to air something that scams their viewers by playing upon the well documented black spirituality. Shameful.
33. I completely agree with you, Mark.
As we both know, this is a concern for all of America -- trying to get rich quick and ignoring fundamentals of business. The flip side, which is never shown, is that those who get rich quick (the wrong way) often lose it quicker than they made it.
In my business, which is a commodity and foreign exchange brokerage, many people open accounts hoping to get rich quick. However, during my initial discussions with new traders I always lay down the truth about how difficult it is to trade for a living.
Inevitably, when I run training classes, half the class walks away after the first session to find a system that will always tell them what to do, so they don't have to think. Fortunately, in these situations, it leaves me with a group of people that has a drive to succeed and last beyond the average account life. Each client of mine knows that I will spend as much time with them as they are putting into it.
Please view my website: http://www.thecommodityadvisors.com for more info.
34. I totally agree. Expecially those commercials that say "follow this and you will on the road to millions" ..."I'm going to share you my super secret way that I have been using for years"
...No good business man would tell his secret... this is why I hate commercials.
Posted at 10:18AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by H. I.
35. - I have never seen a rip off commercial last longer than probably 6 months...
- The reason is they don't work - atleast for very long. I dont mind these people getting on - making a little money then losing their ass.
- Mark - I do however appreciate your concern form quality
Posted at 10:30AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by pallet jack
37. Money! Money! Money! These guys pay the money. They are the equivalent of Ringtone advertisements in print.
Even listening to internet streaming... the early adopters are the 'impotency ads'. These impotency ads are even infiltrating commercial radio. I guess the big name advertisers are only buying prime time. And thats all they're buying.
Posted at 10:45AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by American Pundit Fighting
38. I paid off a 30 year mortgage in less than 2 years!! You can do it too!
Posted at 11:07AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by Don
39. A prime example of an industry who's SOP is to rip off virtually it's entire customer base -- but expects them to remain loyal -- one needs look no further than the banking industry.
Unfortuantely for TV viewers of a more gullible- or Lower IQ-makeup, such ads will no doubt persist for as long as they are effective in reeling such folks in. The TV stations merely serve as "pimps" for these charlatans.
TV stations, in general (much like financial institutions) seem interested only in generating as much immediate income as possible -- ignoring potential long-term ramifications, such as the polarization of segments of their clientele.
It all represents the triumph of lust over principle ... welcome to 21st Century Mainstream America.
Posted at 11:21AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by John McGuire
40. I'm glad you have a pulpit to rant from, but it's a bit silly to blame broadcasters for airing Junk Commercials. This is capitalism at its finest, and as long as there is an Idiot Public that believes that pills can add inches and remove bulges, this is the State of Being.
What is really needed is an investment in education and public policy that dries up the Well of the Gullibles, which will lead these commercials to extinction.
Posted at 11:34AM on Apr 23rd 2007 by Tad Askew
21. Good post. I think the problem comes from the fact that many stations now view advertisers as their true customers. It's a sorry state of affairs.
Posted at 7:42PM on Apr 22nd 2007 by Dustin