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With the world mired in the thick of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, a number of products being marketed using direct response advertising are thriving above the fray. What are some of the common characteristics of these goods and their attendant campaigns that are bucking the tide? And what lessons can be uncovered that might help marketers and their supply chain attain similar success?

When basic security is threatened -- from job to housing to financial stability -- one natural course of action is to turn inward, to take stock. In that process, people come to terms with what they truly value. It has often been said that without one’s health, you have nothing, that all of the other things in life that may seem important are rendered meaningless. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that a review of the Infomercial Monitoring Service (IMS) report reveals that health and fitness products comprise over one-third of both the top 25 ranked infomercial and short-form campaigns currently running.

When individuals feel like their lives have spun out of control, it may be that more people are open to the realization – or seemingly the aspiration -- that their weight and level of fitness are something they can actually have tremendous influence over. The bracing antidote to a daily dose of bad news is incremental physical improvement reflected in the bathroom mirror. Many programs, such as P90X and Slim in Six, require an investment of less than $100. For cost-conscious consumers, that’s a pittance compared to the $775 that SmartMoney.com reports is the annual median cost of a new gym membership according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. In that light, even a more expensive piece of fitness equipment such as the $1,000 plus Bowflex Revolution XP or NordicTrack Incline Trainer can be rationalized. And while the cost of dietary supplements to augment these programs arguably counteract any grocery bill savings, slimming down can certainly impact another area of great economic concern of late: the cost of healthcare.

This need to feel positive about one’s personal appearance amid so much negative press may also explain why perennial DR franchises such as ProActiv and bareMinerals continue to rank high. Meanwhile, inexpensive indulgences such as the Ez Comb offer a guilt-free substitute to a trip to the hair salon. The desire for personal care at a price explains the success of the Ped-Egg, reputed to have outsold Snickers Bars at mass drug according to Telebrands CEO, A.J. Khubani. The Ped-Egg costs a fraction of one $30+ pedicure, although you’ll have to polish up on your nail polishing skills.

Taking this do-it-yourself attitude to tasks that might require more expensive outside services, contributes to the draw of products such as Worx Yard Tools that use innovation to simplify the sweat equity required to replace a gardener or the ubiquitous SpongeTech home car washing system and it’s dollar-a-wash promise that is a cost-conscious alternative to the local service station’s $5 to $10 brushless upsell. And if the idea of doing this much manual labor causes you to feel anxiety, there is always Alteril and the Sleep Number Bed to help put you to sleep, 5-Hour Energy to keep you going, and even Lucinda Basset’s system to help you attack it head-on. Not to mention HeadOn. Should all that fail to appease you, then there is even the Prayer Cross which -- when held up to the light -- reveals the entire Lord’s Prayer, and can be yours for two payments of $19.99. If the thought of reciting that psalm after all of that trimming and washing overwhelms you, there’s even a program that will enable your baby to read it to you.

With so much focus on saving money and doing-it-yourself, is it any wonder that even the appeal of male enhancement products rely on the promise of, forgive the expression, extending pleasure from an activity that, when conducted legally, is free? Let’s review the hallmarks of what is currently working in direct response. A quick inventory reveals they are products that:

Yes, hope, the very same characteristic that swept a man with limited experience but a vast ability to inspire, into the most powerful office on the globe. And if that can be leveraged into selling something of such incredible magnitude, then surely it can fuel the ambitions of direct marketers everywhere -- no matter what the headlines say.