Obama unveils late-night infomercial

CHICAGO, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama filmed a late-night infomercial to feed the appetite of political junkies hungry for information about the U.S. presidential hopeful.

The presumptive Democratic nominee's campaign became the first to use a long-form information-commercial during the 2008 campaign, Advertising Age reported Wednesday.

Missed it? Well, the nearly 30-minute spot aired Sunday at 1:30 a.m. on ION television.

"This was one more effective way for us to communicate with folks who may not normally see other communications we have with voters who are paying closer attention to the race.," the campaign said in a statement.

The mainly biographical program included scenes of the Illinois senator's keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, scenes from campaign appearances, background information and call-in phone numbers.

"It is a first. I guess they are going after the insomniac vote," Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of TNS Media Intelligence's Campaign Media Analysis Group, told Advertising Age.

Tracey said the late-night air time seems to allow the campaign to test the effectiveness of an infomercial without spending a lot of money.