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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: infomercial

infomercial stories: 14 news summaries
YOU NEED One

 Just in Time 
 for Xmas: 
 Weezer 
 Snuggie 


Act now! For a limited time only!

Nov 9, 09 7:47 AM CST
(Newser) - If you want to destroy Rivers Cuomo's sweater, he's down with that: The Weezer frontman would prefer to wear a Weezer Snuggie anyway, which he's hawking right alongside the band's new album. The stunt comes complete with an infomercial in which bandmembers parade around in their Snuggies—yours for only... More »

MORE ABOUT:
infomercial • Weezer • Rivers Cuomo • Snuggie • Weezer Snuggie • Rivers Cuomo Snuggie

(Newser) - Many of the As Seen on TV goods hawked by the late Billy Mays were reviewed in the pages of Popular Mechanics; Harry Sawyers runs down the bellowing talent's top five infomercial products.
  1. Hercules Hook: A heavy painting and a sack of books were no match for a
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • infomercial • advertisements • ShamWow • Billy Mays • Vince Offer

(Newser) - Initial autopsy results suggest that infomercial celebrity Billy Mays died of heart failure, the medical examiner announced today. The autopsy didn’t reveal any head trauma or drug abuse, both rumored causes of the 50-year-old's death, but did find hardening of his arteries, the St. Petersburg Times reports. He was... More »

MORE ABOUT:
advertising • autopsy • heart failure • infomercial • Tampa • Billy Mays


 Infomercial 
 Icon Mays 
 Dead at 50 

TV Pitchman wasn't wearing a seatbelt: FAA

Jun 28, 09 2:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Television pitchman Billy Mays was found dead in his Tampa, Fla., home today, the St. Petersburg Times reports. He was 50. The promoter of everything from baking soda to cleaning supplies said he felt unwell last night after landing in a 737 airplane that blew out a front tire. Mays... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • advertising • death • infomercial • Tampa • cause of death • Billy Mays

ShamWow Guy's Other Claim to Fame: Ex-Scientologist

Infomercial pitchman used group connections to make comedy film

Mar 30, 09 1:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Vince Offer Shlomi, the ShamWow pitchman who gained infamy after being arrested for badly beating a prostitute last month, is also a renegade ex-Scientologist, Gawker reports. Shlomi joined group in 1982, made connections with Scientology’s many entertainment-industry adherents, and found financing to start filming The Underground Comedy Movie, featuring... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Scientology • commercials • infomercial • hooker • ShamWow

ShamWow Guy Arrested After Hooker Fight

Pitchman Shlomi allegedly punched
call girl repeatedly

Mar 28, 09 10:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - He may seem like a nice man with a magical towel, but Vince Shlomi—better known as the ShamWow guy—was arrested last month for punching a prostitute, the Smoking Gun reports. Shlomi, 44, told police he took 26-year-old Sasha Harris back to his hotel room and paid her $1,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
commercials • infomercial • arrest • prostitute • hooker • Howard Stern Grid • ShamWow

 In Tough Times, 
 Celebs Seek Out 
 Infomercials 

Expect to see more stars in late-night ads

Mar 26, 09 10:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - With the economy tanking, it may not be long before you see high-profile stars hawking ShamWows or Slankets, the New York Post reports. “Celebrities who were once appalled at the idea can’t afford to be quite as picky,” says the author of a home-shopping business book. More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hollywood • celebrity • infomercial • Jessica Simpson • financial crisis • Mr. T • Alyssa Milano • Howard Stern Grid


 Tough Times  
 Put Cheap Ads 
 in Prime Time 



Low airtime costs offer big audience to low-budget spots

Jan 27, 09 9:35 AM CST
(Newser) - The recession has pushed TV advertising rates to a relative pittance, and that’s great news for tools like the PedEgg—a callous remover—and the Snuggie—a blanket with sleeves. Though it may hurt shows’ profiles, “Act Now!” infomercial-style ads have recently broken into primetime, the Washington ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • advertising • commercials • recession • infomercial • advertisements • economy

OPINION

Slankets and Snuggies:
The Mockable Sells

The pitch ripe for irony, sells more than a blanket

Jan 14, 09 9:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Parodied by YouTube videos and mocked by Jay Leno, the blanket with arms known as the Slanket—or its knockoff the Snuggie—is getting a lot of attention for a useless invention, writes Dara Lind for Culture11. As Leno points out, “It’s like wearing a bathrobe backwards,"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
infomercial • Jay Leno • invention • blankets • 2009 • Snuggie

 Obama Spot Snags 
 22% of Viewers 

Buying time on all networks but ABC still misses most in major markets

Oct 30, 08 2:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Just about a fifth of watchers in big US media markets tuned in to last night’s Barack Obama infomercial, even though the spot aired on four of five major networks, the Chicago Tribune reports. The highest ratings were in Baltimore, where a little less than a third of families... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • Nielsen • infomercial • political advertising • Ross Perot • Election 2008 • viewership

Pundit Roundup

 Mixed Reviews for the 'O Show' 

Some did, some didn't, making a headline tough to write

Oct 30, 08 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama's half-hour TV pitch scored with writers on the left—though one found it embarrassing to admit to being seduced by an infomercial—while those on the right were turned off:
  • Saying it was hardly the "gauzy, feel-good commercial," McCain labeled it in advance, John Nichols
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • infomercial • Obama 2008 • political advertising • Election 2008

ANALYSIS

Infomercial Smartly Put Feelings Before Facts


Oct 30, 08 6:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama made few concrete proposals in his multi-million-dollar TV spot last night, but the infomercial wasn't about policy, writes Tom Shales; it was about "sensibility." For the Washington Post columnist, Obama's long-form advertisement succeeded as a soft-focus, optimistic simulation "of how it would feel to live... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • infomercial • political advertising • Election 2008

ANALYSIS

Obama Infomercial: Shrewd Clincher or Another Berlin?

Analysts see little risk in appeal to undecideds

Oct 29, 08 11:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - Barack Obama’s 30-minute infomercial tonight comes at a time when 11th-hour deciders start to look for information, Jeanne Cummings writes in Politico. There is some risk of overkill, analysts say, but the Democrat can afford the outlay. “It’s like football,” one GOP strategist says. “People... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • John McCain • infomercial • Ross Perot • Election 2008

Ronco Goes Bankrupt

Jun 16, 07 4:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - But wait, there’s more, as pitchman Ron Popeil liked to say. Ronco, maker of Veg-o-matic, Chop-o-matic, Popeil’s Pocket Fisherman, and an endless array of consumer items sold through infomercials, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. While founder Ron Popeil had sold the company in 2005, he remains... More »

MORE ABOUT:
bankruptcy • Ronco • Veg o matic • infomercial • Ron Popeil

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