Infomercials are long-form commercial advertisements that are characterized by making appealing claims about the quality and capabilities of the products being advertised. Dietary supplements are some of the products which have been widely publicized by the use of infomercials so as to increase the marketing capability of the manufacturers. The reason why so many infomercials are being made is mostly as a result of the effectiveness with which infomercials are regarded. This compounded with the huge demand for dietary supplements by the US population has seen many manufacturers endorse the usage of infomercials to market their goods.
The effectiveness of infomercials cannot be overemphasized. A ruling by Judge Gettleman banning Kevin Trudeau from participating in infomercials acknowledged that Trudeau misled hundreds of thousands of consumers by the use of infomercials. This suggests that infomercials are indeed very effective and formidable marketing tools. Their effectiveness is mostly as a result of their ability to present some form of interaction with the viewer as demonstrations of how the product works are given. Additionally, as a result of the running time of infomercials (averagely 30minutes), viewers are given sufficient time to buy into what is being portrayed. This is as opposed to adverts which run for relatively shorter durations.
Abuse of infomercials occurs when claims on a products abilities are exaggerated or even outright lies. This leads to the deception of consumers or exposure to health hazards as a result of using the products. The FDA is involved in investigations into infomercials that make false claims or promote products that are harmful. However, current regulations of infomercials are not enough and Larson John indicates that there are unscrupulous advertisers who mislead consumers by making false claims about products. More regulations should be made to ensure that only verifiable claims are made by infomercials. Anyone guilty of making false claims should be prosecuted and heavily fined as with the Trudeau case. However, achieving this ideal may take a lot of time and effort as a result of the magnitude of the infomercial industry since it is approximated that two infomercials are produced on a daily basis.
Most dietary supplements advertised claim to provide results in very short periods of time. These are very attractive propositions to bodybuilders and athletes who wish to obtain a certain desirable physique in the quickest time frame and with the least amount of effort. For this reason, supplements have been a major success with these groups of people. The dietary supplements also promise to offset the negative effects that indulging in fast foods and soft drinks may have on the body.
It is evident that owing to the demand for dietary supplements, health issues may be overlooked as consumers set out to achieve their fitness goals and manufacturers aim to maximize their profits. The FDA asserts that dietary supplements are given special regulations to ensure that the products are safe and that the claims made about them are true. However, the FDA lacks the capacity to look into every dietary product owing to their sheer numbers in the market. A more effective approach would be to ensure that dietary products are approved by the FDA before a manufacturer is allowed to market them. However, this measure would result in an increase in the FDA workload and manufacturers would lose valuable time as they await their products to be certified.