Appliance Direct – A Marketing Review
If you’ve visited central Florida within the past five or six years, chances are that you’ve seen an infomercial or short TV commercial for this now legendary store.
If not, well, get ready. Take a deep breath and prepare to step into the world of Appliance Direct. Sam will gladly tell you how to spot good and bad features on appliances, while Lee (also known as the Appliance Direct Woman) will slap the side of the truck and proudly claim, “Same day delivery!”
Oh yes, it’s time to take a look at a few of their commercials.
But this isn’t all seriousness. I also found a few good remixes and parody videos, and those are also shared here.
Let’s start with a generic, 30-second TV spot.
Appliance Direct – See it all!
Here we can easily see the main points of this advertisement: Appliance Direct apparently has a very large showroom, they claim you can save money by not paying retail, and of course, they offer same day delivery. Lee slaps the truck twice to emphasize that selling feature.
Overall, it’s pretty good for basically a teaser. Sam speaks clearly without shouting, and the text on the screen is not too flashy or annoying. The worst part of the commercial is when Lee starts yelling about saving money and the delivery service.
The problem with yelling is that the general perspective is that the people have to yell to get your attention. While this may be more true with today’s society and people’s shorter attention spans, this is generally considered to be insulting to everybody else. That’s fine that you’re excited about saving money or a delivery service, but the yelling is really not necessary. Save the loud words for when Sam makes an exclamation.
The rest of the commercials listed below are mini infomercials. Each one takes an appliance and Sam points out a couple of features. More importantly, he also explains what makes a quality appliance stand apart from a cheaper one, whether it’s from having a larger fan for more airflow, the insulation, or my favorite, if it has white porcelain.
Sam likes to help educate us customers, and for the most part, his presentations are excellent considering that he’s addressing a wide range of potential customers. But that’s how you have to act when working in general sales. It’s not until you meet a customer face-to-face when you slightly adjust your sales pitch to help a customer better understand the product, whether they’ve purchased appliances before or they’re doing it for the first time.
To save time and prevent this from transforming from an article into a book, I’m not going to go into detail for each commercial and research each claim. There are just too many and it would take way too much time.
Appliance Direct – (washing machines and white porcelain)
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Appliance Direct – (top loading washers, washing detergent and “WAKKIE NU NU!”)
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Appliance Direct – (convection oven and “chicken & a fan”)
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Appliance Direct – (range and toaster comparison)
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Appliance Direct – (self-cleaning ranges and A/C money)
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Appliance Direct – (dishwashers and wet & mad germs)
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Appliance Direct – (dishwashers and red velvet cake cleaning test)
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Appliance Direct – (refrigerators and rubber wheels)
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Appliance Direct – (side-by-side refrigerator and ketchup reach test)
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Appliance Direct – (clothes dryer and “WOW!”)
Whew!
I know I’m still missing a few commercials, but that should give you a general idea of Appliance Direct’s TV marketing style. Residents in central and southern Florida have probably seen enough of the commercials to make their eyes bleed, while tourists visiting the world famous theme parks have probably caught a glimpse or two of them while going to bed or waking up early.
I’m part of the Tourist Who Loves The Commercials Club. My family first discovered them several years ago, and I can assure you that I’ve left the channel running late at night many times, watching as Sam went through his spiel over and over again. That combination of humor mixed with education and displayed with actual appliances in the warehouse is a winner!
Back in October of 2008, I wrote an article here called “Good and bad TV commercials.” That article brought to life my interest in Appliance Direct commercials, and that writing concept turned out to be the predecessor to what would become the current marketing review articles that I publish today. It was just a matter of time before giving Appliance Direct its proper recognition in the vast land of good and bad TV commercials.
A few thoughts about the Appliance Direct commercials.
A couple of times when Sam is pointing out important features, he shows us models with inferior versions, such as a lack of insulation, a cheaper range, or a clothes dryer with a small filter. He clearly calls them junk. Does Appliance Direct actually carry those “inferior” models despite Sam’s attitude that such appliances are not worthy of being in his warehouse stores, let alone his presence?
One of the best features of the commercials is Sam himself. The company’s website has a section that tells a little about his history, and for a Korean who moved here and couldn’t speak or read English, Sam is a role model for future immigrants who want to live a successful life. His hard work and dedication to his business is motivation for us all. I don’t know anything about his business model, but apparently what he has going is successful as they now have many stores throughout Florida.
The fact that Sam, the CEO of Appliance Direct, stars in the commercials is just awesome. It just may be disappointing to walk into a store because I half expect to see him working the floor and selling appliances himself. Perhaps he does from time to time.
Are the Appliance Direct commercials entertaining?
- Yes!
Are they informative?
- Yes!
Do they make you want to consider browsing through their selection when it’s time to buy a new appliance?
- Yes!
Does Sam need to make more commercials with his mixture of humor and intelligence?
- Yes!
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And now, a few re-mixed Appliance Direct videos :).
Sam insults his own store and Lee beats the hell out of the delivery truck.
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The WAKKIE NU NU! remix ended with another session of truck slapping by Lee.
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The Appliance Direct Swimsuit Contest!
Good times!
More as-seen-on-TV commercials need to follow the Appliance Direct approach to TV marketing. This stuff is great!
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Appliance Direct is a registered trademark of Appliance Direct, U.S.A. and was used without permission.