Vivatar Tries to Sell Grandpa an Old-Timey Film Camera
September 13th, 2010 by Paul Lucas
Forget the days of “Buy 1, Get 1 Free,” bonus gifts, and phony countdown clocks! The Vivatar Camera is pioneering a bold new approach to marketing products via infomercial. They are actually selling a old-fashioned film camera as a simple alternative to digital photography!
I realize that grandma and grandpa don’t understand these newfangled technological computer machine gizmo thingies, but there has to be a better way for senior citizens to get their photos of the grandkids than selling them an outmoded camera. Are there still many places processing film for prints these days anyway?
If the Vivatar Camera catches on I wonder what other “easy” obsolete technology will be sold to the elderly on infomercials?
Cathode ray tube televisions? (“Remember the days when you could just turn the TV on and dial in to your favorite program without having to deal with dozens of complicated buttons?’”) Crystal sets? Rotary dial phones?
The possibilities are endless!
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A big thanks in vivid Polaroid color to reader Geoff for letting us know about the Vivatar Camera infomercial!
This company’s YouTube account has the exact same ad, but for a Kodak film camera:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVveWhy8iR4&feature=related
Has anyone actually seen either ad on television? Until I do, I will assume that this is a company showing off creativity, not an actual product ad.
Comment by Marc — September 14th, 2010 at 9:49 am
There’s quite a few places still processing 35mm film. At least around here. And film is still easy enough to buy. The ad is still ridiculous. You can buy a new 35mm camera for that or less at Wal-Mart. Mere steps from the kiosk that professionally prints your digital files for you.
Besides, I vaguely remember seeing commercials back in the late 90s selling cheap those newfangled digital cameras by showing how utterly impossible it is for the average person to load film! I think the company just found themselves with a warehouse of low-demand cameras and is trying to move them via the nostalgia sell.
Comment by Kat — September 14th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
I love that the old lady in this infomercial is the cranky harpy from the listen up commercial!
Comment by andrew — September 16th, 2010 at 1:57 am
This is just silly. Getting prints off of a digital camera is not hard. Hell if people have that much trouble with it, go on Ebay and get them an old Polaroid camera.
Comment by Anne Packrat — September 16th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Well, it’s about time!
I just wish someone would start marketing horses as a replacement for cars. Cars need constant refueling, oil changes, and costly repairs. Horses just eat hay and crap. Oh, how I long for simpler, easier times.
Comment by Ryan — September 19th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
“Does that have to be SO LOUD????”
Comment by Scott Mercer — September 27th, 2010 at 12:31 pm