Beware TV Ads

Watch much TV? Do you view those irritating ads for products you order by phone, or by going to a web site? Here are some marketing practices that you should be aware of.

It's become common for these ads to offer you (for example), a second what-ever-it-is for free; "just pay separate fee."

First, I don't know how much that "separate fee" is likely to amount to, but you should consider that, with this fee, it's not actually free.

Second, consider this: Say the item costs $19.99 and the second one is "free." I think you should understand the offer this way: The item really costs $10 each but you are being forced to buy two of them.

And then, have you noticed that all prices are "just such-and-such an amount" or "only. . ."? This is a bit of psychology practiced upon you by the merchandiser, trying to make you think (usually unconsciously) that the offering price is low, cheap, a bargain. Maybe a little less subtle is when they say "For the amazing low price of . . . ." Or they imply that the price is lower than formerly. Probably you can't verify that, and I suspect it's most likely not true.

Another trick to make you think the price is a good one is when the screen shows a price with a big red "X" through it and then a lower price, meaning (again) that the price has been reduced. Again, be suspicious of this.

Sometimes, if the price is for some cosmetic is, say, $39.95, maybe you are getting two or three items and the ad will say, "A $170 value." There is no way you can verify that and you should consider it totally phony and made-up.

For more expensive items, it might be something like, "For just five easy payments of $29.99 each." (Note the inevitable "just.") First, I suspect they don't expect you to multiply the amount of the payment by the number of payments to determine the total cost you'll be paying. Face it, you're lazy, and maybe also not good at mental math. And, sometimes the screen will show (for example) five payments, which (again) is crossed out by a big red "X", and then it's four payments--again to make you think you're getting a price reduction and a bargain.

Are these TV offers ever a good deal, or at least reasonable? In one case I compared the TV price with the price for the same item on Amazon. The same.

Sometimes the items advertised on TV--even if the ad says "Not sold in stores"--are in fact available in stores. For example, Bed, Bath & Beyond carries many "As Seen on TV" items--and if you buy the item from BB&B, you won't pay the shipping charge, though you may have to add sales tax to the price.

I frankly don't know whether, buying from TV vendors, you get an okay product, or reasonably fast shipping (the ads often say "Allow 4 —6 weeks for delivery"), or whether you get ripped off on the shipping charges. That's because I've never ordered from a TV ad; I'm too cautious. Though I have occasionally bought "as seen on TV" products, and I would not generalize to say that they are no good.

A final word: A lot of what I say here may be pretty obvious to the more shrewd among us, but, judging from how frequently I hear on the news of scams and so on that people fall for, I do have to believe that, if not actually stupid, my fellow man sometimes is naive, incautious, or just not critical.

Update, May 16, 2018:  Another device may be subtle (well, maybe they're all subtle). "You may qualify" for a hearing aid or for their life insurance. Qualify? To be sold something? You bet you qualify, as long as your money is good. They want to make you think you're lucky that they're willing to let you buy their product; but who really is the lucky party when you shell out your money, you or they?
Added, July 17, 2019: Yes, that is the tactic of a vendor of hearing aids. They make you think you are lucky if you are "accepted" into their 30-day trial period to "evaluate" their revolutionary new hearing aid. But if you are smart you will recognize it's simply "we sell, you buy."
Also, you can dial the number shown on your TV screen to learn about extra benefits that maybe not all Medicare beneficiaries (What, not me? Horrors!) may be receiving. It really is just about an insurance agent on the other end of the phone line who wants to sell you their particular health insurance scheme.

© 2018 by Richard Stein

I Hate TV Commercials

TV commercials are annoying. Worse, much of the time they're obnoxious. My current most-hated are two IKEA commercials. I don't hate the company; I have generally a favorable view of them, but if these commercials keep up I will soon learn to hate IKEA.

One shows a couple racing into their kitchen to cheer (that's the best word I can think of) their kitchen appliances for just having produced a delicious dinner for them. The husband belly-bumps (is that the word?) the refrigerator on his way out of the room. Sure, we'd all do that after an enjoyable meal, right?

After a bit more thought, I want to admit that the concept of the commercial is creative. What is annoying about it is that it begins with what amounts to shouting, and the sudden loud noise is very jarring. (See comment below on loud commercials.)

IKEA's other commercial has two young identical twin girls who go through an incredibly annoying monotone chant—in front of the same pair of double ovens as in the other commercial. I don't know what they say. God bless the "mute" button on the remote.

We have a local bankruptcy attorney who does his own TV commercials (almost always a mistake for the small business owner: better to use professional actors). He used to stare into the camera and talk in a droning voice. He's gotten better, and at the same time his face has gotten fatter--but his commercials are still deceptive, and annoying in their frequency and ubiquity.

It's also extremely annoying when a TV station runs the same commercial twice in one commercial break. I'm sure the sponsor would not be pleased at that practice, if they were aware of it. I think the FCC should crack down on that practice, as they are (supposedly) going to rein in another very annoying practice of TV stations, ramping up the volume on commercials. (My theory is that they do that to wake you up, if you've fallen asleep. After all, the commercial being the most important part of the broadcast, they want to ensure that you don't miss it.)

Here's a link to an article on obnoxious, loud commercials:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/04/27/ad-rant-after-obnoxious-staples-ad-give-me-higher-prices-and-l/


Besides commercials which are annoying in and of themselves, I really hate tuning in the TV or radio right in the middle (or even worse, just at the start) of a run of commercials. It seems to me that there are now more TV commercials in every commercial break than there used to be. (At one time, if you recall, the FCC had a rule limiting commercial content as a proportion of program content. Since that rule was rescinded we now have the blessing of infomercials.) I know that a commercial break can have at least eight commercials. If you count "spots" (ads for other TV shows), and if some of the commercials and spots are only 30 seconds, there might be 12. When a movie is showing, once you have gotten hooked on the program, the commercial breaks become more frequent (e.g., after only 7 minutes of the program), and longer, as well, with more individual ads.

With TV, I will often let one or even two commercials play. When another one comes on, I hit "mute." With radio, after one or two commercials, I switch it off if it's within reach. I can switch it on again in a couple minutes, when the commercials are done.

Someone once gave a number for the number of advertising messages we are subjected to on an average day, via all media. It was some staggering number, like a few thousand. I'm pretty sure we are normally not even aware of how many TV commercials we watch, and would be surprised at the number. Count them some time.

I used to work with a guy who was pretty pro-business. When I complained to him about commercials, he pointed out to me that commercials are why sponsors pay the money that makes TV and radio programming possible. Of course that's true, but (as I mentioned in an earlier posting on this blog), I as a consumer find it hard not to look askance at businesses when they get ever more ingenious at finding new places to put advertising. Has it appeared on chewing gum wrappers yet? The walls of public toilet stalls? Just wait. (I should be careful, I may well be giving someone an idea here.)

Anyone who can remember back a few decades, when I was a child, might recall that, before cable TV was a reality and was just one of those to-come, futuristic ideas, it was called "pay TV," and the appeal for the consumer was that it would not carry commercials! Now, of course, all cable TV networks, even the "premium" ones, carry advertising. Why? Just one of countless cases where someone found out that they could introduce advertising (or more advertising) and customers would accept it without protest.

Copyright © 2010 by Richard Stein