Back in Time Today
Remember those late-night TV moments when you found yourself mesmerized by enthusiastic pitchmen hawking miraculous products? Infomercials have mastered the art of turning everyday problems into crises only their products could solve. From slicing through shoes to absorbing impossible spills, these television marketing masterpieces convinced millions of viewers to reach for their phones and credit cards.
1. Ginsu Knives: The Slice Heard Around The World
“But wait, there’s more!” That iconic phrase launched millions of knife sets into American homes. Ginsu’s revolutionary marketing showed these Japanese-style knives effortlessly slicing through tin cans before delicately cutting tomatoes paper-thin. Viewers gasped as demonstrators chopped wood, then immediately used the same knife on food. The free bonus offers seemed endless – steak knives, cutting boards, sharpeners – all for “just three easy payments.” Ginsu’s creators weren’t even Japanese (they were from Rhode Island), but their marketing genius created a cultural phenomenon that sold over 3 million knife sets between 1978 and 1984.
2. Ronco Showtime Rotisserie: Set It And Forget It
Ron Popeil’s rotisserie oven became legendary thanks to his hypnotic demonstration and the catchphrase that entered our collective vocabulary: “Set it and forget it!” The countertop marvel promised perfect, self-basting rotisserie chicken with zero effort. Audiences watched transfixed as Popeil loaded raw chickens into the device, closed the door, and rotated the timer with theatrical flair. The studio audience would chant the slogan in unison while the camera panned to golden-brown poultry spinning hypnotically. The simple premise – that anyone could create restaurant-quality meals without skill – drove sales exceeding $1 billion, proving sometimes the simplest pitch works best.
3. ThighMaster: Squeeze Your Way To Fitness
Suzanne Somers transformed a simple V-shaped resistance device into a fitness sensation with her 1990s infomercial. Perched elegantly on a couch in a leotard, the former “Three’s Company” star demonstrated how just squeezing this contraption between your knees could sculpt your inner thighs. Women across America were captivated by the promise of targeted toning without leaving home. The genius of ThighMaster lay in its simplicity – no complicated workout routines, just squeeze and release while watching TV. Despite fitness experts questioning its effectiveness, the ThighMaster moved over 10 million units at $19.95 each, proving sometimes sex appeal sells better than science.
4. George Foreman Grill: The Knockout Kitchen Appliance
Boxing legend George Foreman delivered a commercial haymaker with his tilted electric grill. The premise was brilliantly simple: meat cooked from both sides simultaneously while fat drained away into a little tray. Foreman’s gentle giant persona perfectly complemented the straightforward pitch. Families watched as burgers, chicken, and fish sizzled between the non-stick plates, cooking in minutes while excess fat disappeared like magic. Though initially reluctant to endorse the product, Foreman eventually earned over $200 million from the deal – far more than his boxing career. With over 100 million units sold, this knockout kitchen helper proved celebrity endorsements work when the product actually delivers.
5. Total Gym: Chuck Norris’ Home Fitness Revolution
When martial arts legend Chuck Norris and supermodel Christie Brinkley teamed up to promote a sliding incline workout bench, Americans listened. Total Gym promised the complete fitness center experience without leaving home – no gym membership required. The infomercial showed the unlikely duo performing various exercises on the adjustable ramp. Norris demonstrated strength moves while Brinkley showcased toning exercises, creating perfect aspirational marketing for both men and women. The genius stroke was positioning it as space-saving – it folded up under the bed! This convenience factor, combined with star power and genuine versatility, helped Total Gym rack up over $1 billion in sales.
6. Proactiv: Celebrity-Endorsed Skin Salvation
Acne-plagued teens and adults found hope in Proactiv’s revolutionary three-step system. The infomercials brilliantly featured celebrities revealing their own skin struggles – from Justin Bieber to Katy Perry to Adam Levine – creating powerful emotional connections with viewers. The format never varied: stars shared embarrassing acne stories, followed by dramatic before-and-after photos. Dermatologists explained the science while testimonials from everyday users reinforced the message that clear skin was possible. What made Proactiv different was targeting adults with acne, an underserved market segment. This strategy helped the brand generate over $1 billion in revenue and become the best-selling acne treatment in America.
7. P90X: Extreme Fitness For The Masses
Tony Horton’s high-intensity workout program smashed into living rooms with the subtlety of a medicine ball to the gut. The P90X infomercial showcased regular people achieving extraordinary body transformations through 90 days of grueling workouts. Unlike other fitness products promising easy results, P90X leaned into the difficulty. “Bring it!” Horton would exclaim as sweat-drenched participants pushed through pull-ups and plyometrics. The dramatic before-and-after shots sealed the deal for millions of viewers. P90X’s brilliance was making extreme fitness seem accessible to average people. The DVD set generated over $700 million in sales and spawned multiple sequels, proving Americans would pay for products that promised real results through hard work.
8. Snuggie: The Backwards Robe Phenomenon
The Snuggie shouldn’t have worked. It was essentially a backwards bathrobe marketed as a blanket with sleeves, yet it became a cultural sensation thanks to one of the most unintentionally hilarious infomercials ever made. Viewers watched actors struggling comically with regular blankets – dropping remote controls and answering phones with ridiculous difficulty. The solution? A wearable fleece blanket with arm holes that looked absolutely ridiculous but promised cozy comfort. The commercial’s deadpan seriousness while showing people wearing Snuggies at sporting events made it comedy gold. Over 30 million units sold at $14.95 each, proving sometimes products succeed because they’re memorably absurd rather than revolutionary.
9. ShamWow: The Absorbent Sales Pitch
Vince Offer’s frenetic energy and rapid-fire delivery made the ShamWow infomercial impossible to ignore. Demonstrating this super-absorbent towel’s capabilities with manic enthusiasm, Offer created a sales masterclass that viewers couldn’t look away from. The demonstrations were genuinely impressive – soaking up incredible amounts of liquid, wringing it out, and repeating. Offer’s catchphrases like “You following me, camera guy?” and “Made in Germany, you know the Germans always make good stuff” became part of pop culture. Despite Offer’s later legal troubles, ShamWow sold millions of units. The lesson? Sometimes an unforgettable pitchman with genuine product demonstrations creates an irresistible combination that makes viewers reach for their phones.
10. Magic Bullet: The Party Blender That Never Stops
The Magic Bullet infomercial broke the mold by setting its pitch within a morning-after party scenario. Hosts Mick and Mimi demonstrated the mini-blender to hungover houseguests, creating everything from smoothies to salsa in seconds. The commercial’s genius was its relatable framing – showing real-life applications rather than sterile demonstrations. Viewers watched transfixed as the bullet-shaped blender chopped, mixed, and blended with minimal effort, all while the hosts maintained a weirdly enthusiastic morning energy. The quirky characters and rapid-fire demonstrations of “10 seconds to a perfect meal” helped sell over 40 million units. The lesson? Sometimes embedding your product demonstration in entertaining scenarios works better than traditional pitches.
11. OxiClean: Billy Mays’ Shouting Success
BILLY MAYS HERE! That booming introduction made viewers sit up and pay attention as the bearded pitchman demonstrated OxiClean’s stain-fighting power. Mays’ high-energy delivery style became legendary as he shouted about the oxygen-powered stain remover. The demonstrations were compellingly simple – dramatic before-and-after comparisons of impossibly stained fabrics restored to pristine condition. Mays would dump wine on white carpet or chocolate on shirts, then clean them effortlessly with OxiClean. Before his untimely death in 2009, Mays helped build OxiClean into a household name generating hundreds of millions in revenue. His passionate delivery style proved that sometimes the most effective sales technique is pure, unbridled enthusiasm for your product.
12. Bowflex: The Home Gym Revolution
Bowflex infomercials promised to transform flabby bodies into chiseled physiques using their resistance-rod technology. The commercials featured impossibly fit models demonstrating dozens of exercises on this strange-looking contraption that eliminated the need for weight plates. The genius marketing approach combined aspiration with accessibility. Viewers saw regular people achieve extraordinary results in just 20 minutes, three times weekly – a manageable commitment compared to traditional gym routines. The infomercial’s signature move was the dramatic transformation sequence, showing users morphing from overweight to sculpted. This visual promise of reinvention helped Bowflex generate over $193 million in annual revenue at its peak, despite the machine’s hefty $1,000+ price tag.
13. PedEgg: The Foot File That Fascinated And Horrified
PedEgg turned foot maintenance into must-see TV with an infomercial that was simultaneously gross and captivating. The egg-shaped foot file promised to painlessly remove calluses and dead skin, collecting the shavings neatly inside its hollow chamber. The commercial’s boldest move was actually showing the dead skin collection – a decision marketing experts would typically advise against. Yet this gross-out factor created a can’t-look-away quality that burned the product into viewers’ memories. For $10, the PedEgg promised salon-quality results at home without the mess of traditional foot files. This simple solution to a common problem resonated with viewers, selling over 50 million units and proving sometimes the most effective demonstrations are the ones that make us slightly uncomfortable.
14. Sweatin’ to the Oldies: Richard Simmons’ Fitness Party
Richard Simmons brought infectious energy and inclusive fitness to late-night TV with his groundbreaking workout series. Unlike other fitness infomercials featuring chiseled models, Simmons surrounded himself with everyday people of all sizes, dancing joyfully to classic hits from the 50s and 60s. The commercials featured genuine before-and-after success stories from participants who lost hundreds of pounds. Simmons’ emotional connection with viewers – often tearing up while sharing stories – created an authenticity rarely seen in infomercials. His flamboyant personality and message that fitness could be fun helped sell over 20 million VHS tapes. Simmons proved that creating an emotional connection with viewers sometimes matters more than showcasing perfect bodies.
15. Squatty Potty: The Unicorn That Changed Bathroom Habits
A prince, a unicorn pooping rainbow ice cream, and proper pooping posture – the Squatty Potty infomercial broke every marketing rule and won. This 2015 viral sensation used whimsical imagery to explain how a simple footstool could improve bathroom experiences by aligning the colon properly. Created by the Harmon Brothers agency, the commercial brilliantly used humor to discuss a taboo topic. The unicorn metaphor made discussing elimination both educational and hilarious, while the British-accented prince provided scientific explanations that legitimized the product. The risk paid off magnificently – sales increased 600% after the video launched. Squatty Potty proved that even the most awkward products can succeed with creative marketing that entertains while it educates.
16. Shake Weight: The Workout That Launched A Thousand Jokes
The Shake Weight infomercial became an instant cultural phenomenon for all the wrong reasons. The handheld vibrating dumbbell promised to tone arms through “dynamic inertia” – demonstrated by attractive models making unintentionally suggestive motions. Viewers couldn’t decide if the product was legitimate or an elaborate joke. The deadpan seriousness of the scientific explanations contrasted hilariously with the visual demonstrations, creating perfect fodder for late-night comedy shows and SNL parodies. Despite (or because of) becoming a punchline, the Shake Weight sold over 2 million units at $20 each. This accidental success proved that sometimes products can prosper from mockery – the Shake Weight became a novelty gift item while its infomercial lives on in internet infamy.
17. Purple Mattress: The Raw Egg Test
Purple Mattress revolutionized bedding infomercials with their scientific approach and unforgettable visual demonstration. The commercial’s showstopper featured dropping a 330-pound glass panel onto four raw eggs resting on their mattress – without breaking a single shell. The ad explained Purple’s unique polymer grid technology using Goldilocks as a metaphor – some mattresses are too hard, some too soft, but Purple is just right. Scientific explanations about pressure distribution and spine alignment gave the pitch credibility beyond typical mattress ads. This perfect blend of memorable demonstration and scientific backing helped Purple grow from startup to $187 million in annual revenue. Their approach proved that sometimes the most effective infomercials combine visual spectacle with genuine product innovation.
18. The Clapper: Sound-Activated Convenience
The Clapper’s brilliantly simple premise and earworm jingle made it an infomercial classic: “Clap on! *clap clap* Clap off! *clap clap* The Clapper!” This sound-activated switch promised to control lamps and appliances from the comfort of your couch or bed. The commercial targeted seniors and people with mobility issues, showing elderly users controlling lights without getting up. The demonstrations were refreshingly straightforward – people clapping their hands and lights responding instantly. Despite its technological limitations (dogs barking or TV applause could trigger it), The Clapper sold millions of units. Its success proved that solving a relatable problem, even in a somewhat imperfect way, combined with a catchy jingle can create a product that remains in cultural memory decades later.
19. Flex Seal: The Boat Made Of Screen Door
Phil Swift created infomercial gold when he sawed a boat in half and repaired it with Flex Seal liquid rubber spray. The enthusiastic pitchman’s extreme demonstrations – like creating a boat from a screen door – captivated viewers with their audacity. The commercial followed classic problem-solution format but with outrageous scale. Instead of fixing small leaks, Swift showed the product handling catastrophic damage. His catchphrase “That’s a lot of damage!” before demonstrating repairs became an internet meme. Flex Seal’s parent company now generates over $400 million in annual revenue. The lesson? Sometimes over-the-top demonstrations that push products to extreme limits create more memorable impressions than realistic scenarios – especially when delivered with authentic enthusiasm.