Ronald Martin Popeil, was an American inventor and marketing personality, and founder of the direct response marketing company Ronco. He made appearances in infomercials for the Showtime Rotisserie and coined the phrase "Set it, and forget it!" as well as popularizing the phrase, "But wait, there's more!" on television as early as the mid-1950s.
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), they are often program-length commercials, and are typically 28:30 or 58:30 minutes in length. Infomercials are also known as paid programming. This phenomenon started in the United States, where infomercials were typically shown overnight and early morning, outside peak prime time hours for commercial broadcasters. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off, while other channels air infomercials 24 hours a day. Some stations also choose to air infomercials during the daytime hours, mostly on weekends, to fill in for unscheduled network or syndicated programming. By 2009, most infomercial spending in the U.S. occurred outside of the traditional overnight hours. Stations in most countries around the world have instituted similar media structures. The infomercial industry is worth over $200 billion.
Alton Crawford Brown Jr. is an American television personality, food show presenter, food scientist, author, voice actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats that ran for 16 seasons, host of the miniseries Feasting on Asphalt and Feasting on Waves, and host and main commentator on Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen. Brown is a best-selling author of several books on food and cooking. A recap series titled Good Eats Reloaded aired on Cooking Channel, and a true sequel series, Good Eats: The Return, ran from 2019 to 2021 on Food Network.
Nick at Nite is a nighttime programming block on the American basic cable channel Nickelodeon. The programming broadcasts from prime time to late night. The block initially consisted of syndicated sitcoms and films from the 1950s to the 1970s. Nick at Nite gradually shifted its programming to primarily airing sitcoms as recent as the mid-1990s to the 2010s.
AMC is an American basic cable television channel that first launched in 1984, and is the namesake flagship property of AMC Networks. Since 2002, the full name has been de-emphasized as a result of a major shift in its programming.
OxiClean is an American brand of household cleaners, including OxiClean Versatile Stain Remover, which is a laundry additive, spot stain remover, and household cleaner marketed by Church & Dwight. It was formerly owned by Orange Glo International from its introduction in 1997 until it was acquired in 2006.
"As seen on TV" is a generic phrase for products advertised on television in the United States for direct-response mail-order through a toll-free telephone number. As Seen on TV advertisements, known as infomercials, are usually 30-minute shows or two-minute spots during commercial breaks. These products can range from kitchen, household, automotive, cleaning, health, beauty, and pet care products, to exercise and fitness products, books, or to toys and games for children. Typically the packaging for these items includes a red seal in the shape of a CRT television screen with the words "AS SEEN ON TV" in white.
Ginsu is a brand of direct marketed knives. The brand is owned by the Douglas Quikut Division of Scott Fetzer, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. The brand was heavily promoted in the late 1970s and 1980s on U.S. television using infomercials characterized by hawker and hard sell pitch techniques. The commercials generated sales of between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984.
Kevin Trudeau is an American author, salesman, and television personality known for promotion of his books and resulting legal cases involving the US Federal Trade Commission. His late-night infomercials, which promoted unsubstantiated health, diet, and financial advice, earned him a fortune but resulted in civil and criminal penalties for fraud, larceny, and contempt of court.
Dirty Jobs is an American television series that originally aired on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the job's current employees. The show, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television, premiered with three pilot episodes in November 2003. It returned as a series on July 26, 2005, running for eight seasons until September 12, 2012. The show's setting was refocused in Australia for the final season, called Dirty Jobs Down Under. A spinoff miniseries titled Dirty Jobs: Rowe'd Trip premiered on July 7, 2020. The original series returned on January 2, 2022 for two more seasons, concluding on February 2, 2023.
Telebrands is an American direct response marketing company, and the original creator of the "As Seen On TV" logo and category of trade.
William Darrell Mays Jr. was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, Zorbeez, and Mighty Mendit. His promotions aired mainly on the Home Shopping Network through his company, Mays Promotions, Inc., although they have aired on other syndicated networks. Mays's infomercials were known for his catch phrase "Hi, Billy Mays here", and his shouted delivery of lines.
Thom Beers is an American television producer and narrator/voice-over artist.
Offer Shlomi, better known as Vince Offer or Vince Shlomi, is an Israeli-American infomercial pitchman, screenwriter, actor and director. Offer's first major work was the 1999 comedy film The Underground Comedy Movie. He appears in television commercials for his own products including "ShamWow!", an absorbent towel; the "Slap Chop", a kitchen utensil; a lint roller called the "Schticky"; a liquid cleaner called "InVinceable"; and another kitchen utensil called "Crank Chop".
Cathy Mitchell is an author and television infomercial host for numerous "As seen on TV" products.
Anthony Sullivan is a British producer and pitchman of media shopping in the United States, best known for his work in television commercials. He is the founder and CEO of Sullivan Productions, Inc. which produces commercial spots for brands such as OxiClean, Nutrisystem and Arm & Hammer.
The Unforgiven were a roots rock band that existed for four years during the 1980s. They were signed with a two-record deal to Elektra Records after a bidding war with Warner Bros. Records and several other labels. One label was willing to sign the band unseen and unheard. The band's attire and overall look was compared to that of actors in a Spaghetti Western; three-quarter length overcoats, dusty boots, and wide brimmed hats.
Philip Kives was a Canadian business executive, entrepreneur, and marketing expert from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is best known for founding K-tel, which sold household gadgets including the Miracle Brush, Feather Touch Knife, Veg-O-Matics, as well as many compilation record albums.
Ajit "A. J." Khubani is an American inventor, entrepreneur and marketing executive. Known as the "Infomercial King," Khubani is the founder and CEO of the infomercial firm Telebrands and a pioneer of the infomercial industry. He is the creator of the original "As seen on TV" logo and category at retail.
Brian Sloan is an American entrepreneur known for creating a number of sex toys and adult-themed beauty contests. He is one of the few entrepreneurs in the adult industry to successfully use crowd funding for his products. He hosted a number of genital beauty contests, including a vaginal beauty contest, a scrotum beauty contest, and an anus beauty contest. He is also the inventor of the first sex toy that uses artificial intelligence to replicate human movements, and appears as a pitchman in infomercial style videos for most of his products and contests.
