About This Quiz
"I need that." How many gadgets did you buy late at night , just to wake up and realize credit cards shouldn't be used after midnight? If so, get ready to ace this quiz.Â
You probably have watched infomercials all your life since, they've been on TV since the late 1940s. At that time, the gadget being sold was the Vitamix blender. Although infomercials were seen periodically since that time, they really hit their stride in the early 1980s, when the FCC lifted its regulations regarding time limits on advertising. It was this ability to have long-form commercials coupled with the cultural changes happening in the U.S. that made this format profitable. The do-it-yourself craze along with the rise in popularity of self-help products and home cooking utensils caught on like wildfire.Â
Although the products were different, the "hard sell" was the same, whether it within a short-form, or under two-minute spot, or using the long-form advertising that ran between 15 and 30 minutes. The sales pitch would follow the AIDA model: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Most commercials included product demonstrations as well as testimonials, and if there was enough of a budget, a celebrity spokesperson would do the pitch. But wait, there's more. Time is limited. Take this quiz right now and we'll throw in a pair of steak knives, absolutely free!
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