Questions? Comments? Interested in contributing content? Please contact Vi Paynich, Editor-in-Chief, at vpaynich@retailing.org or 909-606-3406.
As I was running through the forest this morning with my writing partner Scout (below), it occurred to me as we stopped along the way 28 times for the pooch, aka “Sir Spritz A lot,” to mark the route by broadcasting his pheromones, that the basic idea of Twitter may have been around for ages, having originated with dogs.
Rick Petry is a freelance writer who specializes in direct marketing. He can be reached at rick.petry@me.com.
As this year’s ERA Government Affairs Fly-In comes to a close, the FTC’s view on testimonials and endorsements has been the hot topic. The following column addressing this issue first appeared in Electronic Retailer in March of 2007.
Disclaimer: Some readers of the following column may be amused and entertained; others may be put off by a perceived self-indulgent rant. Results may vary.
A few years ago, a client of mine who was sponsoring a car at the Indy 500 was gracious enough to invite me along. Just prior to the start of the race, a parade of stars was introduced. Who do you suppose elicited the greatest ovation from the crowd? Was it pop star and Proactiv endorser Jessica Simpson? Late night star cum racing team leader David Letterman? Jim “Gomer Pyle†Nabors singing “Back Home in Indiana†just prior to “Lady (thank you, Danica Patrick) and gentlemen, start your engines?†No, it was Jared Fogle. Jared Fogle? Yes, Jared–the Subway Guy.
I mention all this because as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) begins the process of reviewing its policy on testimonials in advertising, Jared and the billowing pants he used to wear when he was 235 pounds heavier are about to endure the kind of scrutiny serial dieters reserve for their waistline. The FTC is examining whether highlighting such extraordinary cases of success within advertising creates expectations in the mind of the consumer that are misleading or even deceptive, even though they may be accompanied by a disclaimer along the lines of “results not typical.†Given the prevalence in health, fitness and even financial direct marketing of such endorsements, this may threaten a core device advertisers have long employed to spur couch potatoes to take action.
The Jareds of the world are aspirational catalysts who inspire others to change their lives. Does anyone really think that by working out at 24 Hour Fitness, they can ride a bicycle like Lance Armstrong? No, but by endorsing this chain, Armstrong may lead the target audience to healthier living. Similarly, a tearful weight-loss infomercial testimonial that causes a viewer to pick up the phone could be viewed as a public service. Given the rate of obesity in America, shouldn’t these authentic testimonials be framed in a positive light?
In a world with scant heroes, perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that commoner Jared received the greatest roar at Indy. Subway has tried many different campaigns in the near-decade since our bespectacled everyman first “ate fresh,†but keeps coming back to the icon that represents the ability of the average person to achieve extraordinary results. And what of the role of personal responsibility in making choices (something I would think our government would want to extol)? Having sat through countless focus groups, I can attest that consumers pay close attention to those mouse-typed disclaimers, and comprehend every word. The FTC should give them more credit. Perhaps a more appropriate disclaimer for such testimonials would be: “Individual desire or will may vary.†Fat chance.
Rick Petry is a freelance writer who specializes in direct marketing. He can be reached at rick.petry@me.com.
For more information about ERA’s government affairs efforts, click here.
This week’s Time magazine cover story is about the death of the traditional ink and paper newspaper and the threat of its extinction/replacement by online versions that rely on a shaky, single advertising revenue stream. Written by former Time managing editor Walter Isaacson, it suggests that, like the migration from illegal downloading of music on Napster to the iTunes model where consumers willingly pay a small fee for content, that a similar model is imperative for the survival of professional journalism. Given the degree of competition and the sheer volume of content available from sources that include citizen journalists on the web, do you think this construct is viable?
As an avid user of Wikipedia, I’ve been among the thousands who have willingly contributed money to their cause. Why? Because, as a writer, I value it as a resource and I rely on it daily. It is also a not-for-profit enterprise and does not rely on advertising and I acknowledge that if avid users like me don’t donate, it can’t possibly survive without some other major funding source. So, in a way, their cause really feels like it is our cause. I can’t say I feel the same way about The New York Times, which just required a $250 million cash infusion from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu to stay afloat, but should I? With the sea change in generational media consumption habits, is it realistic to think that we can migrate away from a feeling of entitlement with regards to free and easy access to content to a model where we pay a nominal fee to access articles?
Sounds like a tall order to me, but what do you think?
Rick Petry is a freelance writer who specializes in direct marketing. He can be reached at rick.petry@me.com.
In what has to be a first, the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) was mentioned in a blissful wedding ceremony this past Saturday night as ERA’s 2008 Volunteer of the Year, Jeff Meltzer wed Barbara Kaufman at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall. During the ceremony, the reverend noted that the night of last year’s ERA awards gala, amid the hoopla of Jeff’s perfect night, he proposed to Barbara. As this accompanying photo attests, for at least one DRTV practitioner par excellence, “Wait! There really is more!” And to think, it didn’t even take three easy payments to make Barbara this radiant— just a simple dose of the Monsieur Meltzer magic!
Rick Petry is a freelance writer who specializes in direct marketing. He can be reached at rick.petry@me.com.
Even staid JCPenney gets in the viral marketing game this holiday season with this short, “Beware of the Doghouse,” which uses sly humor and Internet-based marketing to spur clueless gifting husbands to visit their local JCPenney fine jewelry counter.
What do you think, folks? Will it work?
Rick Petry is a direct marketing strategist and creative services professional and a past chairman of ERA. He can be reached at (503) 740-9065, or via e-mail at rick.petry@me.com.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last night, the Barack Obama campaign took an unprecedented step in the history of the infomercial, by running concurrently on several networks in the prime time half-hour beginning at 8 p.m. to make an appeal to voters in the form of an infomercial.
The John McCain camp, led by spokesperson Tucker Bounds responded, “As anyone who has bought anything from an infomercial knows, the sales-job is always better than the product. Buyer beware.â€
Rick Petry, representing the Electronic Retailing Association, a trade association that represents direct marketers that use electronic means including infomercials, had this response: “To use a political agenda to indict an entire genre of advertising by portraying it in such a negative light is patently unfair. It would be like charging an entire industry and everyone associated with it, say politics for example, as being scurrilous. We at ERA will be the first to tell you that there are some who use this method of advertising inappropriately, which is why we have an independent self-regulation program, ERSP, administered by the National Advertising Review Council in partnership with the Council of Better Business Bureau. With this watchdog mechanism in place, claims have to be proven; a standard that politicians are not required to live up to. The fact is infomercials have been used by not only start-ups with unique products, but successful brands such as Kodak and Mercedes Benz, even the U.S. Navy.â€
For more information on ERA, click here.
As part of this year’s ERA Awards Gala, our home shopping obsessed sock monkey reappeared in “Satisfaction (I Can’t Get No).”
The short, created by Rick Petry and Richard Perris, is described thusly on YouTube: “Hilarity ensues when a sock monkey husband turned cuckold tries various infomercial products to win back his sweetie.” Have a look and if you like it, please rate it!
As part of this year’s awards gala, “Retailers Rock,” ERA Interim CEO Rick Petry and Mercury Media’s Mark Biglow channeled their inner Spinal Tap to portray Harry Sod and Teddy Wanker, two aging rockers who make up the mock band Hot Air Supply. They’re on tap to introduce a new party music collection, “The Fulfillment Guys Do Rock, Pop & Rap” featuring some of your favorite ERA fulfillment house pros. Enjoy!
For more information about ERA’s PAC Leadership Dinner, click here.
Credit: R. Perris’ iPhone
It’s true: Power 90 is not just for humans! To ensure we infuse some comedic muscle into this year’s “Retailers Rock”-themed Awards Gala—to be held on the evening of Tuesday, September 23—Under the Gun Productions has once again been busy creating another sock monkey short. Created by USC Film School Alum Rick Petry and Richard Perris, this year’s entry will be a follow up to last year’s short, “Home Shopping Havoc” that was part of “A Night At the Opera.” In case you missed it, below is the YouTube video for “Havoc!” See you at the show!
Rick Petry is ERA’s interim president and CEO.
Last week I visited Honeyshed, a fresh reinvention of home shopping that elevates products and brands to the level of fetish with an irreverent mix of urban sass and scantily clad, er, lass. We’ll be covering Honeyshed in a feature article in Electronic Retailer to coincide with a major marketing launch in November. In the meantime, check out their sizzle (or is it fo shizzle?) reel and if you’re interested in advertising on Honeyshed, contact Beth LeManach at Lemanach@honeyshed.com or Blaine Pate at Pate@honeyshed.com.
Click here to check out the site!
Rick Petry is ERA’s interim president and CEO.
As I prepare for this year’s ERA Annual Awards Show under the call to arms “Retailers Rock,†I’ve been on an iTunes download binge worthy of Barry, Jack Black’s dogmatic record clerk character in the movie “High Fidelity.†A few classic gems from the Stones and The Who, a nice sprinkling of three-chord bliss from the likes of X and the Ramones, even a download of The Tubes’ first gem, which provided the soundtrack for my first job as a pump jockey at 16. Maybe this latter disc was prescient for what I would go on to do for a living for it contained the Zappa-esque, “What Do You Want From Life?†Sample lyrics:
“What do you want from life?
To get cable TV and watch it every night…
Well, you can’t have that, but if you’re an American citizen you are entitled to:
A heated kidney shaped pool,
A microwave oven—don’t watch the food cook,
A Dyna-Gym—I’ll personally demonstrate it in the privacy of your own home,
A king-size titanic unsinkable Molly Brown waterbed with polybendum,
A foolproof plan and an airtight alibi,
Real simulated Indian jewelry,
A Gucci shoetree,
A year’s supply of antibiotics…â€
You get the idea. Yes, this was the ’70s and drugs were prevalent in the workplace. But it also points out how personal each person’s quest for nostalgia is and why, despite the best efforts to tap into a collective consciousness for the good ‘old days, advertisers so frequently fail in their attempts to reference music in television advertising.
Personally, I don’t care if I ever hear another cut from Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors†in this lifetime. That “Now dare you go again, you say you want your freedom†thing has been warbling on the radio ad naseum since both Steve Nicks and I actually had abdominal muscles. Nor is Led Zeppelin going to make me ever buy a Cadillac. And please spare me the Ameriprise and Cialis ads with well-heeled, frisky Centrum Silver Surfer-types frolicking on the beach (Psst: they’re havin’ sex tonight!) I’m an American. I want something new. And shiny.
Nobody serves this up better than Apple that consistently introduces new candied-like objects of desire accompanied by fresh cuts that springboard out of their commercials to become the soundtrack of our lives—today. Whether it’s introducing U2’s “Vertigo†or breaking Yael Naim’s “New Soul, “ they’ve got it down. Heck, my mother—who is in her 70s—bought the new Coldplay as a result of their most recent ad.
I imagine the younger generation—the one I’m a guest speaker to annually who have informed me that the Geico caveman spots are the apex of good advertising—would site U2 and Coldplay as contemptible examples of sellout bands. Meanwhile, my son listens to Tom Petty, while I favor Snow Patrol. Bottom line: With easy access to an infinite catalogue, tidy generational generalities don’t work anymore. I lived through the Gerald Ford Presidency, disco and “Family Feud†once and it was enough, thank you. So, even though the juice in my gin may be of the joint variety, I need it to move to Amy Winehouse, not April Wine. Hit me.
Rick Petry is ERA’s interim-CEO
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