Did anyone see the NBC Dateline show tonight (Friday) about how NBC created a bogus nutritional supplement and then hired an infomercial production company to create an infomercial about it?

It was really incredible! They created a "product" called "Moisturol"--a capsule that you swallow that gets rid of wringles and smoothes your skin from the inside out. Seven of the "users" of the product that were featured in the infomercial were interviewed before and after they new they had been duped--six of them admited they were actresses who DID use the product but enjoyed being paid to exagerate their claims. Get this: they lied for $50 each!!!! A board certified dermatologist was even in the ad claiming the wonders of this new product!

In reality, the product was capsules filled with Nestle's Chocolate Quick mix! :hopeless: YIKES!!!

What was the purpose of doing it? To demonstate that people are morons, or to make money? If the latter, why did NBC come out and admit to it on one of their own shows?

I think NBC's position on it was "Buyer Beware" when it comes to infomercials.
They were able to get a bogus product onto an informercial without anyone stopping them and if they can do it others can too.
There are exaggerated claims on lots of informercials but we seem to believe that there are compliance regulations that an informercial must follow so we think the claims must be true. But Dateline and NBC proved that there are no regulations within the industry.

Ah thankyou Karen! It makes alot of sense then, i'm glad they did it:thumb:

Yes, NBC was certainly doing a "Buyer Beware" bit, however, they also ended up showing that people can be morons!

P.S. I'll admit, I've bought more than my fair share of junk because of well scripted infomercials! :confused:

Yes, NBC was certainly doing a "Buyer Beware" bit, however, they also ended up showing that people can be morons!

P.S. I'll admit, I've bought more than my fair share of junk because of well scripted infomercials! :confused:

Nine years ago I bought the Carlton Sheets program for making money in real estate. :hopeless:

..... ouch... that's a little painful to admit.:bonk:

Nine years ago I bought the Carlton Sheets program for making money in real estate. :hopeless:

..... ouch... that's a little painful to admit.:bonk:

Yep....I bought Jim Rosen's Classified Ads Can Make You Gazillions of Dollars. :hopeless:

Nine years ago I bought the Carlton Sheets program for making money in real estate. :hopeless:

..... ouch... that's a little painful to admit.:bonk:

I am worse. I bought Don Lapre's money making scheme. Something to do with classified ads, as I recall. :hopeless:


Jennifer

Don't beat yourself up over falling for these great productions, learn from them. I love a great late-night infomercial, even though they have tightened up greatly on what they allow people to say and sell.

Lapre had a good pitch, so did Kevin Trudeau, and there's always our buddy Tony Robbbins or Carlton Sheets the old standby.

Most of these pitches, and in fact many e-mail marketing letters as well, can teach us a lot about how to effectively market our own businesses and ideas.

Be a conneiseur of sales pitches, study them and use that knowledge to make your own even better. :cool:

In reality, the product was capsules filled with Nestle's Chocolate Quick mix! :hopeless: YIKES!!!

See, that's where they'd get me. I'd actually BUY capsules filled with Nestle's Chocolate Quick Mix! :yikes:

Let's market chocolate pills. I'm in! :yippee:

Jennifer

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

I just read it and it is awesome.

That's a good one...

But Dateline and NBC proved that there are no regulations within the industry.A little late to this party, but HAD to give my .02

I'm pretty sure there are one or two regulations out there regarding fraud that apply to all industries ('cept maybe the govt industry).

But it's certainly true that you shouldn't just believe something because it's on TV and presented as fact..... like when Dateline wanted to highlight unsafe GM trucks, then proceeded to set a truck up with remotely-controlled explosives and made it look like the truck caught fire upon impact :biglaugh: