I know a sales guy (in a small market) who sold the local hardware store a LOT of 2-3 second ads. They all had the same theme:
"Plummers Hardware sells chain saws."
"Plummers Hardware sells door keys."
"Plummers Hardware sells basketballs."
The goal was to get you to think, dang, Plummers sells EVERYTHING. And it worked very well.
IMHO, to make these work, you have to have a plan, a ton of frequency, and a long-term contract.
OR... lots of name recognition already.
But I DO believe there's a place for them, just not as some kind of broadcast sales panacea.