So, what did you think — was it better than DEION SANDERS’s pitch for The Hot Dog Express (otherwise known as one of the only entertaining things on at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning)?
We know, not possible.
But were you buying the vision of America that Obama was selling last night? Or was that even the point? You could argue that by pulling a publicity-yielding stunt like this Obama was securing a prominent yet scandal free place in the news cycle in the final moments leading up to November 4th and the informercial itself (which only established supporters would care about) was irrelevant.
The reviews from TV critics are mixed
After the jump the first lines from a handful of our favorites. Let us know in the comments if you thought this informercial was must-see TV and if you missed out, watch the entire thing online here.
BARACK OBAMA wasn’t selling tomato slicers or time-shares, but a star TV pitchman said the presidential hopeful’s infomercial had a key element for success — passion. [NYDN]
Barack Obama fired the final salvo in the great battle of images that is the 2008 presidential campaign last night with a half-hour, multimillion-dollar television infomercial that could be considered not the “feel-good” but rather the “feel-better” movie of the year. [WaPo]
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office. [AP]
NIGHT RIDER – one of the TV shows that got bumped to make way for Barack Obama’s infomercial – was looking pretty good last night about six minutes into the candidate’s last-minute pitch. [Boston Herald]
Sen. Barack Obama’s 30-minute TV ad, which ran simultaneously on broadcast and cable networks at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, is muscle-flexing that has little precedent, a campaign advertising expert said. [CNN]
It pays to buy airtime only if you know what to do with it — and Barack Obama clearly does. [USA Today]