Infomercials juice your brain to induce buying

Snuggie won't snuggle for long, Slap Chop could use some work and don't expect Shamwow to wow you as advertised.

Before you buy products on late night infomercials, wait 10 minutes to give your brain time to simmer down.

Infomercials use neuroscience to trigger brain waves that can lull you into impulsive purchases.

So says, "Should you buy this now!?" a new report from Consumer Reports (CR), the respected and trusted rater of consumer goods and service.

Tests of 15 products sold through infomercials reveal many of them aren't worth buying, but you might buy them anyway because the infomercials juice your brain.

The secret, according to an advertising expert, lies in neuroscience -- infomercials are carefully scripted to pump up dopamine levels in your brain, says CR.

"Dopamine is commonly associated with the pleasure system of the brain, providing feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement to motivate a person proactively to perform certain activities," according to Wikipedia.

CR says the carefully scripted commercials begin with dramatizations of a problems you didn't know you had. Incredible solutions follow. Then there's a series of ever more amazing benefits, bonuses, and giveaways. The climax is the thrill of an unbelievably low price -- including not just one, but two or more items for the price of one.

After the commercial ends, dopamine levels drop in 5 or 6 minutes, which is why the commercials scream "BUY NOW!"

"Consumers should pause 10 minutes before buying anything from an infomercial and see if they can get the same job done for free or with a product that they already have in their house," said Jeff Blyskal, senior editor, CR.

The full report will be available in the Feb. 2010 issue of Consumer Reports and is available to subscribers online at ConsumerReports.org.

In CR's tests of "miracle" you-just-gotta-have gadgets found that some "deceived, delivered, or landed somewhere in between."

Here's the scoop:

Slap Chop. Slap this gadget with your palm and you can "dice, chop, and mince in seconds" and remove skins from onions and garlic, for about $20.

CR slap-chopped mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, chocolate, almonds, and other foods. Slap Chop chopped unevenly. Harder foods needed about 20 slap-chops and tended to get trapped in the blades. Garlic peels were off in five slap-chops, but onion skins were only partially removed after 10.

Snuggie. "Snuggie blanket keeps you totally warm," and is made of "ultra soft, luxurious fleece," at two for $19.95.

After CR testers put Snuggies through 10 wash-and-dry cycles the Snuggie was so far from snug and several testers had trouble walking. It also sheds. Each time CR laundered two Snuggies, they removed a sandwich bag worth of lint from the dryer.

Tyre Grip. Spry this on and for 50 miles it "helps keep you on the road regardless of the road conditions," for $19.95.

AutoSock. A cloth and cloth-and-mesh cover you slip over a tire and wheel is "a quick and easy alternative to metal chains when driving on slippery roads," for $99 a pair. The check

With Tyre Grip sprayed on the tread of a Honda Accord's front drive wheels, CR drove on a snowy Vermont road. CR also drove up a small, snowy hill with the Accord's all-season tires alone, with Tyre Grip, and with AutoSocks over the front wheels.

Tyre Grip improved traction modestly during acceleration and braking, but only for about a mile. The Accord couldn't reach the hilltop with or without Tyre Grip. AutoSocks helped the car make it up the hill many times. However, AutoSocks are cumbersome to put on and are meant to be used only on snow or ice and to be removed right away when the roads clear.

iRobot's Looj 155. Pop this battery operated robot in your gutter and it'll "blast through debris, clogs and sludge," for $170.

The robot was honored as Best of Innovations Design and Engineering Award categories at the 2008 International Consumer Electronic Showcase.

Operating in a 60-foot stretch of gutter with dry and wet oak leaves, the Looj flipped leaves back into the gutter or toward the roof instead of the yard. It dislodged dense leaves and debris only after it was worked back and forth repeatedly. Sometimes it got stuck. It did remove dry leaves from the gutter in 15 minutes but worked almost an hour to clear heavy spring debris from 50 feet.

Shamwow. With four larger and four smaller towels for $19.95, Shamwow works "Like a chamois, a towel, a sponge, works wet or dry, holds 12 times its weight in liquid." Original ads claimed "20 times its weight in liquid."

Try maybe 10 times. CR dunked ShamWows in water, soda, milk and used motor oil. ShamWow soaked up only 10 times its weight in water or soda and usually 12 times its weight in milk. If testers used a damp ShamWow, they needed another cloth to wipe remaining droplets.

Video image, video by Consumer Reports.