Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
Infomercials, you either love them or you hate them. But there’s no denying that they can be very entertaining. With so many infomercials gracing our screens, you can be sure that there have been some bad ones in the past.
While you might be familiar with some of the best infomercials, there’s a whole lot to explore at the other end of the scale! If you’re ready for a giggle, take a look at some of the worst infomercials, and learn a few lessons in what make a good one.
The Potty Putter
Have you ever wondered how you can improve your golf game? Well, the makers of Potty Putter came up with the ideal solution – a putting set you can play on the toilet. It’s a strange concept, but the infomercial itself is certainly entertaining!
The Wearable Towel
The Wearable Towel certainly got people talking, but for all the wrong reasons. Designed to be a towel you can wear as opposed to using an actual towel or a bathrobe, viewers seemed baffled as to why you’d want to wear your towel any longer than you’d need to.
Popeil Automatic Pasta Maker
An automatic pasta maker sounds like any pasta lover’s dream. It’s just a shame that this infomercial couldn’t really sell it. The ‘thousands’ of varieties of pasta include some ideas that are pretty out there – French champagne pasta with your favorite pasta sauce recipe? The price of fresh pasta soon dropped after this aired, making it a little obsolete for those wanting to save time and money.
So what makes a good infomercial?
There are so many ways that an infomercial can go wrong, so what does it take to get one right? A good infomercial should:
- Explain how the product can solve a problem for the viewer. It should explain in detail why the product is useful.
- It should be sincere, no unfounded bold claims.
- It should feature opinions and reviews from real customers to provide that word of mouth that people look for when making a purchase.
- It should be entertaining but not go overboard – the focus should be on the product after all.
Using experienced infomercial production experts can help create the ideal infomercial. Nobody wants to end up on anyone’s ‘worst’ list!
Infomercials are a great way to get to know a product. Good or bad, there’s no doubt they leave a lasting impression, and might even convince you to buy a new must-have product!