Infomercials (past or present) you actually didn't mind watching

[anotherguyTN]

Was there an infomercial like this for Laugh In? It seems like I remember seeing it at one time, or am I thinking of the PBS special that was essantially an infomercial?

 

[borderblaster]

I'm almost sure there was a Laugh In informercial

 

[NHRadio]

I used to love the "Ancient Chinese hand hammered wok" in the mid 90s.

 

[dave73]

I've recently seen some "As Seen on TV" products the last few months at one of my local Dollar General stores where I frequently shop ...

If you ever get out to Tempe, AZ take at gander at the "As Seen On TV" store at Arizona Mills Mall.

It is chock full of all those plastic goo-gaws you've seen over the years. ;D

There's an As Seen On TV store in my local mall in Hobart, IN. There's stuff I wouldn't mind owning, & others I wouldn't.

As for informercials I watched over the years. These included Didi 7, Don Lapre's Making Money Secrets, Flowbee, Susan Powter's Stop The Insanity, SMC, Anything with Tony Robbins, George Foreman Grill, Magic Bullet, NuWave Oven, the Ninja mixer/blender, and many others. Only one time I saw an infomercial for the Hurom Slow Juicer.

Out of all infomercal products I ever bought, I only bought the Flowbee (doesn't even come close to working like it did in the infomercial), George Foremen grill, the Ninja mixer, & SMC. I can tell you that SMC does work, as long as you have the business skills to be able to sell the products. You simply become a member of SMC, & you get the merchandise at wholesale. You either setup your own shop, online store, or host house parties (like Tupperware does) to sell SMC products. I gave it a try, & found out I'm not a business person or a salesperson at all. That tells me I wouldn't make a good salesperson for Sears, Best Buy, HH Gregg, or any other high-pressured sales jobs. I forgot to mention I also got the NuWave Oven. That works like the infomercial states. What the infomercial doesn't tell you is that you have to flip your food half way thru, in order to get it cooked evenly. I however find a 13lb turkey takes just as long in the NuWave as it does in a regular oven. I however find the Nuwave removes more fat than an oven does. It's a trade-off. I also forgot to mention about some gadget that helps you fold shirts the same way you see them in the stores. That works too, but it takes a bit getting used to using. I'd like to get the Hurom Slow Juicer to see if that works. How it's supposed to work is that the juice is squeezed out of fruits & vegetables, rather than grinded up, like typical juicers. Unfortunately, the Hurom Slow Juicer is over $300, & money I don't have to spend right now.

At least in my area of NW Indiana, until 1998, Venture (now out of business) was the only store that sold any product that was sold on TV. Once Venture went out of business, then Walgreens, Walmart, Kmart (not as much), & Meijer started selling products that used to only be available on TV. Not sure if it was an exclusive thing that Venture had, but in my area, Venture was the only store that sold stuff that was seen on TV infomercials. The As Seen On TV store didn't open until about 2002 or 2003 in Southlake Mall. They also relocated in the mall 3 times (once for needing a bigger space; second time because the space they were in (along with 4 other stores) was being converted to Borders, but is now BAM, & third time, because they weren't getting the sales in the previous location).

I forgot to mention about Didi 7 and how well that works. It works on some hard to remove stains, but not all of them. What I really hated about the product was that it stinks. So this is one product I wouldn't recommend pre-treating any clothing, then toss in the washer. It transfers the nasty smell to the rest of your clothes (even more so if you use a front loader, due to using less water, & makes the smell even more concentrated).

 

[johnnyu]

I can remember back in the early 1950"s, we were watching tv one night and this black & white program came on. The guy was sitting in a dark room and started by saying, " I'm going to tell you a hair raising tale." My parents thought it was a spooky show. What we got was a fifteen minute commercial for some hair car product.

 

[James Pagan]

I always get a kick out of the "Midnight Special" infomercial, as well as the many Time Life Music spots--in fact, I'd love to see a New Wave one, perhaps hosted by (in my rock-and-roll fantasy) Debbie Harry and Gary Numan.

 

[NHRadio]

And of course, Ronco's Hair in a can!

 

[searadiofreak]

I will agree with others here, the entertainment shows (Dean Martin, Carol Burnett, etc.) catch my attention. But I won't buy them because I realize that most the highlights I have just watched in the promos. It's the old 80/20 rule...give them 80% of the product in the tease, make them pay for the other 20%.

 

[visaman]

I will agree with others here, the entertainment shows (Dean Martin, Carol Burnett, etc.) catch my attention. But I won't buy them because I realize that most the highlights I have just watched in the promos. It's the old 80/20 rule...give them 80% of the product in the tease, make them pay for the other 20%.

I rented the Dean Martin... no actually it was Jerry and Dean on the Colgate Comedy Hour. Never mind! ;D

 

[chrish]

I guess we all as they say have too much time on our hands.

 

[RobertAnthony]

Any of the classic TV DVD's like Carol Burnett (which had some of the cast doing a semi-reunion show), Dean Martin Variety Show (with guest shots by Regis Philbin and Producer Greg Garrison), the Celebrity Roasts. Midnight Special (many guest shots by rock and pop legends who were stars in the 1970's as well as a look back at the show). Reason...you are buying a DVD in essence. If it breaks, send it back.

Same with the music CD's...although seeing an overweight Jon "Bowzer" Bowman was a bit much for a Time Life early days of rock and roll CD set.

 

[borderblaster]

There's a Soul Train infomercial that's entertaining; I imagine sales spiked a bit after Don Cornelius passed

 

[Tim L]

Information gleaned from the WJW-TV Cleveland 50th Anniversary web page..

The late Alan Freed, between leaving WAKR Radio in Akron, Ohio and joining WJW-AM in Cleveland, worked for a time hosting movies, etc.  on WXEL-TV 9 Cleveland in the very early 1950's..He also apparently sold pots and pans during a late night "Program Length Commercial"..A secretary/movie buyer who worked at WXEL the same time as Freed(and continued at WJW-TV 8 for many years after) said that as of 1999, she still had one of the pans Freed sold..

 

[LKellerIII]

There are very few infomercials I would sit through. I also enjoyed the one a few years ago for The Dean Martin Show collection on DVD. I mean his variety show, not the Roasts he hosted, which came later. My father would sometimes let me stay up past my bedtime to watch the show in it's early years. The show ran 9 years, IIRC, so well past the time I grew up and left home. but I was 12 when it started. Fun show...good memories, and all that.

Though I can't say I enjoyed it enough to buy the DVDs.

 

[borderblaster]

Did Crazy Eddie do long form informercials? Didn't see him in the midwest but certainly heard about him.

 

[NHRadio]

Crazy Eddie's day was before half hour commercials were allowed IIRC.