Systems and methods for effectively and non-intrusively directly marketing a manufacturer's consumer electronic products on the screen of a television over a TCP/IP or other communication link. In a television that preferably includes a screen, an OSD controller, a video display system coupled to the screen and OSD controller, a CPU coupled to the OSD controller, and a modem or other means coupled to the CPU and used to communicate with a manufacturer's server over the internet or other network. The CPU preferably includes non-volatile memory and software stored in the memory. The software includes a menu system that includes a direct marketing menu item; selection of which by the user enables the download of marketing content over the internet and display on the television. The software further includes a set of instructions for accessing upon system power on or after a predetermined period of time of television operation a manufacturer's server to check for updated marketing content and display of an icon indicating the availability of marketing content.