Selling a $3 TV Antenna for $47

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I love good marketing. I recently posted about the Littleton Coin Company selling a $2 bill for $4. But in this week’s coupon circular, there’s an even better ad.

“An invention that pulls in free TV with no bills!?!?” Isn’t that called an antenna? You can buy a digital tv antenna at Amazon.com for about $3 (versus $47 in this ad).

But the genius us this ad is the marketing behind the antenna.

  • This antenna receives “up-to 953 TV shows.” How did they come up with this number? I don’t really know, but my guess is a clever fellow in marketing thought it would be funny to insert a prime number
  • “If you find the first two digits of your zip code immediately call.” I’m fairly certain every zip code is represented in the table.
  • The sense of urgency: “Hotlines are open for the next 48 hours beginning at precisely 8:30 am this morning.” Which morning? The day I’m reading the paper? EDT? PDT?
  • The photograph of the factory boxing these antennas. They must be shipping a ton of them.

I won’t be buying this product anytime soon, but I do give them credit for some marketing pizzazz behind a normal, everyday product.

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