Direct response television and how it works

This article traces the development of direct response advertising on TV from its earliest days when it was intrusive, brash and unsophisticated to the present time.

Direct Response Television And How It Works

Bruce LeeOgilvyOne

Years ago, direct response television was not something you could learn by emulating best practices. There were none. DRTV was the province of the marginal marketer, a fast way to make a buck. Blue-chip brands would blanch at the thought.

Back then, DRTV commercials competed for being the most ugly and intrusive usually featuring a male voice-over with astounding lung capacity who fast-talked from first frame to last, while a toll-free phone number rode the bottom third of the screen for the entire two minutes.

These spots looked cheap...

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