WThe Abdominizer was an abdominal exerciser invented in 1984 by Canadian chiropractor Dennis Colonello and marketed through infomercials by the Fitness Quest corporation of Canton, Ohio, selling around six million.
WAIDS: Don't Die of Ignorance was a 1987 public health campaign by the British government in response to the rise of HIV/AIDS in the United Kingdom.
WBlood Circus is a 1985 independent American science fiction-horror film about intergalactic professional wrestling. It was produced by Baltimore-native Santo Victor Rigatuso, also called Robert "Bob" Harris, who promoted it through infomercials for his mail-order "Santo Gold" jewelry business. Though it had a brief regional release funded by Rigatuso, the film never received distribution.
WThe Flowbee is an electrically powered vacuum cleaner attachment made for cutting hair. It was developed and filed for patent in 1986 by Rick E. Hunts, a San Diego, California carpenter. US patent 4679322 was granted in 1987 and the product marketed since 1988. Hunt initially sold the Flowbees out of his garage before finding success with live demonstrations at a county fair. The product was advertised as being capable of performing "hundreds of precision layered haircuts" in frequently aired late-night television infomercials. By 2000, two million Flowbees had been sold.
WThe George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine, commonly known as the George Foreman Grill, is a portable electrically heated grill manufactured by Spectrum Brands. It is promoted by former boxing champion George Foreman. Since its introduction in 1994, over 100 million George Foreman grills have been sold worldwide.
WDonald D. Lapre was an American multi-level marketing and infomercial salesman. His work involved product packages such as "The Greatest Vitamin in the World" and "Making Money Secrets".
WMatthew John Lesko is an American author known for his publications and infomercials on federal grant funding. He has written over twenty books instructing people how to get money from the United States government. Widely recognized for recording television commercials, infomercials, and interviews in colorful suits decorated with question marks, Lesko's signature fashion also extends into his daily attire and transportation, earning him the nickname Question Mark Guy.
WMichael Stephen Levey was an American infomercial host. He was best known for hosting Amazing Discoveries, a series of infomercials that aired on late night television from 1989 to 1997.
WThe Magic Bullet is a compact blender sold by Homeland Housewares, a division of the American company Alchemy Worldwide, and sold in over 50 countries. It is widely marketed through television advertisements and infomercials and sold in retail stores under the "As seen on TV" banner. A feature-limited retail version not under this banner called the "Magic Bullet Single Shot+" is also available.
WThe Magic Clown is an NBC TV series which ran from 1949 to 1954. The final NBC broadcast was on June 27, 1954. The show then moved to WABD where it stayed until 1958. After that, it was renamed Bonomo, The Magic Clown and was broadcast on WNTA from September 29, 1958 to July 24, 1959. The show was sponsored by Bonomo Turkish Taffy. Josh Norris, who used the stage name "Zovella", was the first Magic Clown, and went on to a successful career as a full-time magician.
WWilliam 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, and Zorbeez. His promotions aired mostly on the Home Shopping Network through his company, Mays Promotions, Inc although they aired on various other syndicated networks.
WMaria Kristina "Tina" Nordström Holmqvist is a Swedish celebrity chef and television personality from Helsingborg, Sweden. She hosted the second season of New Scandinavian Cooking on PBS stations on American television, replacing Andreas Viestad as host of the show; she was succeeded by Claus Meyer. She also appeared in a subsequent series featuring the same cast in rotation called "Perfect Day", produced by Tellusworks/Anagram Produktion and directed by Andreas Lindergard.
WOffer Shlomi, better known as Vince Offer, Vince Shlomi, "The ShamWow Guy", or "The Slap Chop Guy", 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.
WOxiClean is a line 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.
WPitchMen 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.
WThe Shake Weight is a modified dumbbell that oscillates, purportedly increasing the effects of exercise. As a result of the perceived sexually suggestive nature of the product, infomercial clips of the exercise device have gone viral.
WSpeechless: Silencing the Christians is a 2008 documentary series produced by the American Family Association (AFA) and hosted by commentator Janet Parshall; the 13-episode series was first televised by the Inspiration Network. The documentary series describes the AFA's opposition to what it claims to be "political correctness", and claims that various factors, such as separation of church and state, hate crime laws, the Fairness Doctrine, and the "gay agenda", are threatening the existence of Christianity. The DVD release added a 14th episode. The series was also broadcast as a one-hour special in 2009, causing controversy at a Tampa, Florida television station.
WSwift Response, LLC is an American company specializing in adhesive bonding products based in Weston, Florida. It was incorporated on February 28, 2011, by Philip (Phil) and Alan Swift. As of August 2019, the company employs 100 people led by chief executive officer Phil Swift.
WTelebrands is an American direct response marketing company, and the original creator of the "As Seen On TV" logo and category of trade.
WThane Direct is a home shopping television channel, broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Digital.
WDirect Holdings Global LLC, through its subsidiaries StarVista Live, Lifestyle Products Group and Time Life, is an American creator and direct marketer that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, and multimedia products. The current focus of the company is music, video and entertainment experiences as the book division closed in 2003. Its products have been sold throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia through television, print, retail, the Internet, telemarketing, and direct sales. Current operations are focused in the US and Canada with limited retail distribution overseas.
WKevin Mark Trudeau is an American fraudster, author, and salesman, known for promotion of his books and resulting legal cases involving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). His ubiquitous late-night infomercials, which promoted unsubstantiated health, diet, and financial advice, earned him a fortune but eventually resulted in civil and criminal penalties for fraud, larceny, and contempt of court.
WTV Shop is a teleshopping channel broadcasting 24 hours a day. It became famous in Europe by being one of the earliest free-to-air (FTA) channels on the Astra satellite. The service was initially set up by Modern Times Group but in 2007 was sold to American teleshopping giant Guthy Renker. Guthy Renker then sold the brand TVShop in 2016 to the current owner Stratos AG.
WEd Valenti is an American television personality and entrepreneur best known as an early pioneer of infomercials and for creating the Ginsu knives. In 1975, Valenti and his business partner Barry Becher founded Dial Media, Inc., one of the first major infomercial companies in the world. Valenti is credited with coining a number of phrases widely adopted by the industry, including: “But wait, there’s more!”, “Now how much would you pay?” and “This is a limited-time offer, so call now.”