I tested the infommercial market a couple of years ago, tempted by the concept of staging an Oprah-style event to showcase a product. Millions of pounds are spent creating a commercial with the glossiest production values, an ad so opulent that viewers can't help but believe. Except they don't. We are armchair cynics, all of us, unwilling to accept anything we see, oblivious to the most expertly scripted patter of the most radioactively sincere host. Even with dedicated shopping channels and hundreds of network controllers desperate for advertising Income, TV is too small to be the perfect sales medium.
Time is limited.
Prime time on top channels is very limited. But now there's another way to advertise on a TV screen - every screen, in theory, on the planet. For anyone with a computer and a modem, setting up a website costs nothing. The potential market is mind-boggling, with 300 million users expected online by 2001. The smallest sellers are worth nothing at all - and if you set up a website today to sell produce from your allotment or your unwanted CDs, then you'll join the small guys.