"While TV hosts ooze with enthusiasm and an almost terminal next-door neighborliness, the home shopping genre hasn't evolved much."
“Spin Man” Tom Madden, CEO of the PR firm Transmedia and former NBC Programming VP, created Shop Laughing, a new online home shopping show that launches today.
Described as "American Idol meets QVC,” Shop Laughing hopes to combine entertainment with home shopping. Apparently not everyone finds plain old vanilla home shopping channels quite as entertaining as Queen Bea. Who knew?
But exactly how will this work? Will the hosts have to balance on a unicycle while juggling ginzu knives and singing a medley of Michael Jackson’s greatest hits?
I got the opportunity to ask Tom how he was going to put a variety show and home shopping into a blender come out with something both entertaining and profitable.
QB: Will you be live 24/7?
TM: Eventually. Right now, the two-hour pilot will be looped and shown continuously 24/7. The format is five minutes shopping, three minutes entertainment, back to five minutes shopping, etc.
QB: I'm assuming that not every person who brings a product will have a comedy background, but will the hosts be comedians?
TM: Hosts are funny, but not comedians. The talent segments will feature comedians, singing, dancing, etc.
QB: I read that you will sell funny items like wallets that open by fingerprint, a Germ Bullet that mortally wounds flu bugs up your nose, and your own invention of Knife and Forklift (www.knifeandforklift.com), a combination of dumbbells and utensils that lets you exercise while eating. Will some of the products be more "serious?"
TM: Yes indeed. Look at Stazem1, a stun device that is the ultimate in personal protection.
QB: Will it be interactive with viewers (such as voting)?
TM: Yes. Audience can text vote for their favorite performer
QB: How will you utilize social networking?
TM: Heavily. We’ll be Facebooking and Tweeting about press coverage, including you, QB!
Check out Shop Laughing ... and feel free to laugh at them. They don't mind.
~qb
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Someone should tell him about CVN's Sold Outrageous! We did pretty much the same type of thing with the Doctor of Shopology (Hey! I know that guy!) and his zany cast of characters from the warehouse! Hehe....
ReplyDeletekind of like Dave James' show......what was it called...Seriously Late.
ReplyDelete