Infomercials are a common form of paid programming that are immediately familiar to anyone who has had a sleepless night and ended up channel surfing at three in the morning. They offer fantastic deals on revolutionary products, but only if the viewer calls within the next thirty minutes. Most consumers don’t realize that they are able to legally make that statement because the people manning the phones have an elaborate system of stopwatches and time charts to keep track of whenever the infomercials are shown. Has it been thirty-one minutes? Sorry, you’re out of luck.
Many infomercials use minor celebrities to help hawk their garish products. Unsure about purchasing a full set of Ginsu knives? Well, what if we told you that Gary Coleman uses them for his home meals? And he’s here right now to demonstrate them! Thought that’d get your attention. Infomercials also tend to use such catch phrases as “You can do it too!” and “But wait, there’s more!” to help draw attention. If you’re really lucky, they might even offer to throw in a extra pair of salad tongs with the purchase. (That’s a twenty dollar value, at no additional cost!)
Amazing products that have been sold in infomercials:
- The Bowflex home gym
- Oxiclean!
- The Veg-O-Matic
- Malt-Shop Memories (a doo-wap collection)
- Tooth whiteners
- Buns of Steel exercise tapes
- The Smokeless Ashtray
- Girls Gone Wild videos
Fortunately, you can now Google the product to see how much of a scam it is.
I have to admit, though, that I really love my Hercules hooks. Overpriced, but they work.
(I have now, nor have I ever had any association with Hercules. I just like his hooks)