Obama Turns to the Humble Infomercial

WASHINGTON (AdAge.com) -- The Obama campaign is the first to use a long-form infomercial during the 2008 presidential campaign.

If you hadn't noticed, that may have been because the nearly 30-minute program aired at 1:30 a.m. Aug. 10 on ION Television.

The Obama campaign confirmed the airing of what it called a "long-form commercial" but provided no details and also declined to answer questions on why it ran the ad. The mostly biographical 28-minute, 30-second program included scenes of the Illinois senator's keynote speech to the 2004 Democratic National Convention as well as scenes from other campaign appearances along with background about Mr. Obama and frequent call-in numbers.

There was immediate speculation that the airing was a late-night test for whether the infomercial format could successfully generate contributions and calls. While Republican rival Sen. John McCain is accepting federal financing for the fall campaign, Mr. Obama has declined the funding and thus is unrestrained from spending limits, but must continue raising his own funds.

"It is a first. I guess they are going after the insomniac vote," said Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of TNS Media Intelligence's Campaign Media Analysis Group. He said the unusual airing time in fact appears to allow the campaign to test the effectiveness of the infomercial format without spending much.

http://adage.com/campaigntrail/post?article_id=130295&search_phrase=obama

Insomniacs vote, too.



I've been an incomniac. I have all sorts of sleeping problems. If this is on during one of my up-all-night bouts, I'll watch it!

I'd be happy to put my dollars toward supporting Barrack instead of ending up with an Ionic Toothbrush or some ab-flattening exercise tool.

However, since I got rid of cable TV in the house (due in part to some sleep-deprived unwise purchases--LOL), DU is now my middle-of-the-night distraction. ;)

If you do see the infomercial, be sure to recap it for us! :)

:)

From the article:

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In 1992, the Clinton campaign occasionally ran "A Man From Hope," a biography originally produced for the Democratic National Convention, as an infomercial.
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