Boycott Watch is, in essence, a
consumer advocacy organization, looking out for the consumer by making sure
people have all the information before making purchasing decisions, or as in
the case of boycott calls, before refraining from making a purchase. You have
probably seen our reports and video about Vince Offer Shlomi and his Sham Wow /
Scam Wow commercial designed to deceive the public.
The Sham Wow deceptive advertising practices have left many consumers skeptical
about all products advertised on television. While we at Boycott Watch are
generally skeptical about product claims which appear too good to be true, we
also have to give credit where credit is due. Most products advertised on
television are as good as or better than advertised. Take, for instance, the
George Foreman
Grill. We have found this product to be of superior quality and it performs
better than advertised. Ron Popeil of
Ronco does excellent job
marketing quality products as well. One thing that stands out with these
pitchmen is the fact that they use their names and stake their own reputations
on the line with their products. These companies also make it very easy for
consumers to contact them, listing their corporate addresses, phone numbers and
email contact information.
When a company makes it
easy for potential customers to do business with them, consumers become more
comfortable with those companies. On the other hand, businesses which make
receiving customer service difficult drive away new, repeat and referral
business. Business people will tell you it is often easier to retain a customer
than replace one. With direct response TV, however, one bad experience by a
single telemarketer can turn that customer away from buying from all direct
response marketers, thus television stations which air deceptive ads such as
Sham Wow, which we call Scam Wow, have the potential to hurt other direct
response marketers, be it radio, television or print ads. Therefore, publishers
and broadcasters of scam product ads are effectively hurting their own business
by limiting the sales potential of good direct response marketers including
Telebrands, the people
featuring pitchmen Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan.
When Discovery Channel
first announced their new series
Pitchmen, we at Boycott Watch were inherently skeptical
about what we would see. After watching the show, were pleasantly surprised at
the care and detail the people involved displayed when picking a product and
assembling a marketing campaign. First and foremost, the pitchmen and
Telebrands have demonstrated they believe in the product they market, and most
importantly, they represent the attributes of the products and without
exaggeration and offer those products at a reasonable price.
The "Pitchmen" show on Discovery Network, which is
inherently the king of all infomercials, was surely in development long before
the arrest of Vince Shlomi and it came at the right time, reassuring consumers
that legitimate television marketing exists. The show will also inherently
contribute to consumer trust of the products pitched by both Billy Mays and
Anthony Sullivan, regardless of who they work for. Consumers will also see
Telebrands as being careful to only market quality products. In a time when
consumers are looking for the best value possible, previous skeptics about
direct response television marketing will unquestionable now feel comfortable
about buying products Pitched by Mays and Sullivan.
Boycott Watch contacted Mr. A.J. Khubani, President of Telebrands, and we asked
him about his commitment to customer service. Mr. Khubani said "Our consumer is
the most important part of our business. Once they've had a positive experience
with our products they are more likely to buy from us again." In fairness,
Boycott Watch has made several attempts to contact Vince Shlomi and his Sham
Wow company for comments, but we have yet to receive a responses. |
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