Whatnot Buys First National TV Ad, Introduces Football Fans To The Joy Of Watching A Stranger Open A Box

NEW YORK—Whatnot, the live shopping marketplace where people buy collectibles, sneakers and vintage clothing from sellers on camera in real time, has launched its first national advertising campaign, bringing to network television the country's fastest-growing spectator sport: watching someone you have never met slowly open a box.

The campaign, called "Take a Shopping Trip," debuted with a spot featuring real Whatnot sellers and is running during NFL and NBA games and prime-time entertainment shows through the end of the year. The company is also expanding in Europe as competition in live shopping heats up.

Marketplace experts said the move was overdue. "For years live shopping was a secret," said Imogen Treadwell, a fictional commerce analyst at Sidelot Research. "A man in Ohio would open a pack of cards at 11 p.m. and 3,000 people would yell. Now we are telling the whole country, during football, when they are already prepared to yell."

"Television spent 70 years teaching America to sit and watch. Live shopping only asks you to sit, watch and bid $14."

Viewers in a fictional focus group were moved. "I watched a woman open a box of vintage Pyrex for 22 minutes," said one participant. "I do not collect Pyrex. I do now." Another said he was drawn in by the auction timer and had bought a jersey for a team he does not support, "out of respect for the countdown."

Sellers welcomed the attention but warned newcomers about the etiquette. Never ask what is in the box before it is opened. Never say "ship it" unless you mean it. And never, ever leave during a rip.

Rival marketplaces said they were watching closely, which industry observers noted is exactly the behavior the ad is designed to encourage.

At press time, the ad had ended, but a viewer in Phoenix was still staring at the television in case someone came back to open the second box.