 | |
| Industry | Inventions |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | A. J. Khubani |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Items advertised on TV |
| Website | telebrands.com |
Telebrands is an American direct response marketing company, and the original creator of the "As Seen On TV" logo and category of trade. [1]
The company's CEO A. J. Khubani started the company in 1983, creating print advertisements for his products in publications such as the National Enquirer . Telebrands was first based in Roanoke, Virginia, but in 1998 was moved to Fairfield, New Jersey.[ citation needed ] In 1986, Khubani began experimenting with television, producing three short form infomercials, one for an ultrasonic flea collar, one for a home bicycle exercise machine, and the third for AmberVision sunglasses. [2] The company subsequently sold 15 million pairs of the AmberVision sunglasses. [3]
Since 1983, Telebrands has sold hundreds of millions of "As Seen on TV" products including AmberVision sunglasses, the PedEgg, Doggy Steps, One-Second Needle, Pasta Boat, Jupiter Jack, Bottle Tops, Aluma Wallet, InstaBulb, Lint Lizard, Pet Rider, and Pocket Hose. The PedEgg foot file, launched in 2007, has sold over 45 million units as of 2013. [4]
Telebrands' products are marketed using TV, Internet, and print advertising and through retail chains in over 120 countries. [5] Telebrands tends to have 10 to 12 products on store shelves, the most of any company in the direct-response television space. [4]
Telebrands works with infomercial pitchmen, including the late Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan. The company and Khubani were featured in several episodes of the Discovery Channel TV series PitchMen . The show followed Mays and Sullivan as they searched for inventions to be sold by "As Seen On TV", with Khubani having the final say. [6]
Once a month, the company hosts an "Inventors Day" where entrepreneurs in the U.S. come to pitch their invention to Khubani and his team. "Inventors Days" are held in several U.S. states, with past locations including New Jersey, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago. [7] The company continues to launch products such as the Orgreenic line of non-stick cookware, the Olde Brooklyn Lantern, the Who Knew Books line of books, and Rabbit TV, a joint venture with William A. Mobley and Freecast Inc. [7]
The company has also been involved in a number of cases where victims alleged and ultimately proved wilful intellectual property theft. [8] [9] Recent reporting shows that the company systematically infringes on intellectual property and has done so over 120 times. [10] In one case, the jury awarded $31 million in damages and lawyers' fees to an inventor as they were found to be liable and also willful in infringing [10]
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. The modern concept of intellectual property developed in England in the 17th and 18th centuries. The term "intellectual property" began to be used in the 19th century, though it was not until the late 20th century that intellectual property became commonplace in most of the world's legal systems.
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.
Bausch + Lomb is an eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intraocular lenses, and other eye surgery products. The company was founded in Rochester, New York, in 1853 by optician John Bausch and cabinet maker turned financial backer Henry Lomb. Until its sale in 2013, Bausch + Lomb was one of the oldest continually operating companies in the United States.
Libertarians have differing opinions on the validity of intellectual property.
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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.
Ronco was an American company that manufactured and sold a variety of items and devices, most commonly those used in the kitchen. Ron Popeil founded the company in 1964, and infomercials and commercials for the company's products soon became pervasive and memorable, in part thanks to Popeil's personal sales pitches. The names "Ronco" and "Popeil" and the suffix "-O-Matic" became icons of American popular culture and were often referred to by comedians introducing fictional gadgets and As-Seen-On-TV parodies.
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Guthy-Renker is a California-based direct-response marketing company that sells health and beauty products directly to consumers through infomercials, television ads, direct mail, telemarketing, e-mail marketing, and the Internet. Many of its products are endorsed by celebrities including actresses and musicians
Offer Shlomi, better known as Vince Offer or Vince Shlomi, is an Israeli-American infomercial pitchman, director, writer, and comedian. Offer's first major work was the 1999 comedy film The Underground Comedy Movie. Offer owns, produces, and appears in television commercials for his products "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". He has also officially advertised other products that he does not own, such as Quicky Grass.
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Anthony John "Sully" Sullivan, also known as The OxiClean Man, is a British-born 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.
PitchMen is a docudrama television program produced for the Discovery Channel in the United States. The show followed infomercial producers and talent Billy Mays and Anthony "Sully" Sullivan as they attempted to sell various inventions through direct-response marketing, mainly through Telebrands, one of the largest direct response/infomercial companies. The series was narrated by Thom Beers. Each episode typically focused on two different products.
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.
Vita-Mix Corporation, doing business as Vitamix, is an American company that manufactures and sells commercial and residential blenders. Vitamix was founded in 1921 by William Grover Barnard and is privately owned by the Barnard family. It has been based in Olmsted Township, Ohio, since 1948. It employs more than 700 people, most at its Northeast Ohio headquarters and manufacturing facilities. Vitamix products are sold in over 130 countries.
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