Infomercials offer solutions to problems you didn't know you had for a few easy payments. But not all of these incredible deals are worth dropping money on. At least some of these marketing masterpieces are unforgettable for their utter ridiculousness... fortunately or not.
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00:00Infomercials offer solutions to problems you didn't know you had for a few easy payments.
00:04But not all of these incredible deals are worth dropping money on.
00:07At least some of these marketing masterpieces are unforgettable for their utter ridiculousness,
00:11fortunately or not.
00:13Exercise is one of the classic life issues infomercial products claim to improve.
00:17Pressed for time but still self-conscious, consumers were tempted by gadgets that offered
00:21to sculpt, tighten, or build body parts in just minutes a day.
00:24And one of the most memorable was the Shake Weight, a spring-loaded barbell that shook.
00:28It came in a five-pound version for men and a two-and-a-half-pound version for women and
00:32promised to use dynamic inertia, which is not a thing, to build in-tone muscles in less
00:36time than it would take using traditional weight training.
00:39Users looked goofy standing there shaking a dumbbell, and the dirty mind had snickered
00:43at the arm motions used with the Shake Weight.
00:45You just shake it.
00:46Back and forth.
00:47It feels really good in my hands.
00:49People might happily look silly if the thing worked as advertised, but a National Institute
00:53of Health study nixed the whole idea.
00:55Sure, people were moving weight with their bodies, but the NIH pointed out that the Shake
00:59Weight weighed far less than what gym-goers would realistically use to train.
01:03Additionally, regardless of the muscle targeted, much of the work was done by the triceps.
01:07If you want to build muscle, hanging onto a tiny, trembling weight won't get you very far.
01:12Another classic late-night TV product is Psychic Advice.
01:15One of the most prominent of these purveyors was the Psychic Readers Network, fronted by
01:19the highly animated Miss Cleo.
01:21Speaking in a vigorous pseudo-Jamaican accent, Miss Cleo gave viewers direct orders.
01:25Call me now for a PCR reader.
01:27She offered advice on love, money, and anything else you might need, billed by the minute,
01:31of course.
01:32If you want him to believe that it's over, then you gotta stop accepting the booty calls
01:36at 2 a.m. in the morning, you understand?
01:38But as quickly as Cleo's stars aligned, they flamed out.
01:41In 2002, the Federal Exchange Commission opened an investigation, and while the limited paranormal
01:46bona fides of the service's psychics were outside the FEC's scope, shady billing practices
01:51took the business down.
01:52It later came out that these psychics were just people who needed a job and were willing
01:55to use, or pretend to use, a computer-based tarot card program.
01:59Cleo herself was revealed to be a Los Angeles-born actor named Yoray Del Haris.
02:04I am a trained priestess.
02:08I have many ways and abilities to divine information.
02:13As a mere employee, and a poorly paid one at that, Ms. Cleo wasn't named in the lawsuit
02:17that led Psychic Readers Network owners Stephen Feeder and Peter Stoltz to settle out of court
02:22for a cool $500 million.
02:24Haris went on to make a few self-parodying media appearances before dying of cancer in
02:282016 at the age of 53.
02:31Ever wish you could combine your love of golf with your love of carrying around containers
02:34of your own urine?
02:36The EuroClub has you covered.
02:37An ingenious solution to the problem of needing to relieve yourself out on the links, the
02:42EuroClub was actually a hollow shaft that an uncomfortable golfer could relieve himself
02:46into.
02:47But wait, there's more.
02:48The EuroClub comes with a towel and appears that you are just checking out your club.
02:51Once relieved, the golfer simply seals up the EuroClub for later emptying in what promises
02:55to be a slapstick cleaning process.
02:57I'm sorry?
02:58I think that's stuff.
03:00Plenty of people face challenges with incontinence and urgency, and fortunately, they have access
03:04to products and strategies that don't involve the risk of giving a caddy the surprise of
03:08his life.
03:09I designed the cap in conjunction with a pipe fitter who assured me that this would never
03:15leak.
03:16The EuroClub is now marketed as a gag gift, complete with a tie-in to Luxe water brand
03:20Liquid Death.
03:21It remains one of the dumbest things you can buy online, but at least the manufacturers
03:24are honest about it.
03:25I went in the club.
03:28The EuroClub.
03:29For a moment in the late aughts, the bump it was everywhere, thanks to the rise of high-volume
03:33hairstyles inspired by the popularity of the Jersey Shore franchise and the dramatic infomercials
03:38marketing the product.
03:40Many products feature sighing or grumbling before scenarios, but the Bump It Lady actually
03:43screams at her flat, lifeless hair.
03:45Are you tired of flat, boring hairstyles?
03:48For those unable or unwilling to create 60s-style big hair through time-consuming ratting, teasing,
03:54and spraying, the Bump It offered an arguably elegant cheat.
03:57Simply place it at the crown of your head, conceal the infrastructure with the rest of
04:00your hair, and try not to let anyone touch it.
04:03The Bump It's problem was not that it didn't work — it received a near-glowing review
04:06in Glamour.
04:07But fashions change rapidly, and the snooky-fueled revival of the beehive and related styles
04:11now looks dated.
04:12But if you think dated is another word for classic or need a little help with an Amy
04:16Winehouse costume, never fear — the Bump It remains ready to help.
04:21Creepy is not a traditional selling point for a beauty treatment, but the Rejuvenique
04:24Electric Facial Mask was no traditional beauty treatment.
04:27If you can get the idea of what doing eight setups a second would do for your stomach,
04:32you have an idea of what Rejuvenique would do for your face.
04:35In other words, cause irreversible physical collapse?
04:38Gold-plated contact points provide a mild electrical current to each of your 12 facial
04:42zones, powered by a 9-volt battery in the control unit.
04:45To give you an idea of the technological era this dates from, the control unit connects
04:49to the mask with a curly landline telephone-style cord, and the whole shebang comes with an
04:53instructional VHS.
04:55The apparatus looks like something that, once you put it on, you couldn't actually take
04:58off.
04:59Additionally, it hurt.
05:00Emily McCombs, intrepid beauty reviewer for Yahoo, tried the thing even after reading
05:04a review that compared the sensation to ants biting your face and discovering that it wasn't
05:08FDA-approved.
05:10McCombs didn't find it painful, but reported that it left red marks on her face and scared
05:14her mailman.
05:15If you're worried about visible signs of aging, give America's Postal Service a break and
05:18try hydrating first.
05:20The amazing new Toilet Time Golf game sounds, at best, like something to amuse small children
05:25during the grunt work of toilet training.
05:27But sadly, this gimmicky gift was targeted to adults wanting to improve their performance
05:31on the green.
05:32The Potty Putter is just that.
05:34A small putting practice tool you can use from the most private area of the privacy
05:37of your own home.
05:38Just roll it out in front of the commode, arrange yourself, and get down to business.
05:42You'll take the time to play with your putter.
05:45It's the most satisfying way to practice your game.
05:49The first and perhaps most minor objection to this product is that the average bathroom
05:52floor bears no resemblance to a golf course.
05:55Additionally, experts recommend an efficient approach to answering the call of nature.
05:59Spending too long in the toilet can cause or exacerbate hemorrhoids, and even worsen
06:03constipation.
06:04Finally, there's a basic public health concern.
06:12We're not here to pass judgment, but it's hard to imagine John Q. Toilet Golfer regularly
06:16disinfecting his bathroom astroturf.
06:18Just bring your phone, like everyone else.
06:20It's still gross, but it's easier to clean.
06:23Cats.
06:24Love them or hate them, they traditionally poop in sandboxes.
06:27This is an established cat fact, so any owner exhausted by the cycle of scooping and refilling
06:32the litter box can't honestly say they had no idea a house cat would produce a waste
06:36management situation.
06:37Cats suck.
06:39Anyone who's ever lived with one knows what I'm talking about.
06:41Enter the City Kitty, a system that promises to teach cats of any age, size, or breed how
06:46to use the human toilet.
06:48According to the product's Amazon page, the process is simple.
06:51Just add the City Kitty tray full of litter to the toilet you want the cat to use, then
06:54remove rings until the business end of the cat is over the water.
06:58Then all you do is flush.
06:59The main issue facing users is that the City Kitty's success involves cooperation from
07:03a cat.
07:04Additionally, for however long it takes the cat to learn, there's going to be a ring of
07:07cat litter installed on the toilet, which is hard to imagine resulting in comfort and
07:12ease of use for all concerned.
07:14Finally, even in the event of success, you still have to check the toilet regularly to
07:18see if Morris has been by to lay his burdens down.
07:20If the goal is less net interaction with cat waste, it's hard to see the City Kitty as
07:24really solving the issue.
07:26No discussion of infomercials and the products they sold would be complete without mentioning
07:30the patriarch of the genre, the doyenne of the art form, peerless pitchman Ron Popiel.
07:35An inventor of numerous products of varying quality, Popiel was one of the first to harness
07:39television for sales, and did so for decades, becoming a bit of a punchline but also a household
07:44name and a wealthy man.
07:45"...Super Bass-O-Matic 76 is the tool that lets you use the whole bass with no fish waste
07:50without scaling, cutting, or gutting."
07:52Popiel coined the "-omatic suffix in several classic taglines.
07:56But wait, there's more!"
07:57"...Set it…"
07:58"...and forget it!"
08:00Popiel sold generations of Americans karaoke machines, pasta makers, food dehydrators,
08:05bedazzlers, rotisseries, hair in a can, and more.
08:08"...You didn't mention Mr. Microphone and the smokeless ash tray, or Miracle Broom, or Miracle Brush."
08:14Unfortunately for the as-seen-on-TV true believers, Ronco, the company Popiel named
08:19after himself, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in April 2018 and Chapter 7
08:24liquidation in June.
08:26Popiel wasn't directly affected, having sold the company in 2005.
08:29In fact, according to the New York Post, he tartly criticized the most recent owners for
08:33having retooled the Showtime rotisserie and started over in China.
08:37Popiel died in 2021, leaving a legacy of entrepreneurship and a significant fortune.
08:42Ronco's rights and portfolio of products were bought in 2022, and Ronco products remain
08:46on the market.
08:47Time will tell if they sell without the charisma of their inventor.
08:50Sex?
08:51Finances?
08:52Child-rearing?
08:53Gas?
08:54According to the marketers of the defunct Better Marriage Blanket, the humble two poses
08:57as great a threat to marital harmony as any of the more traditional friction points.
09:01This combination comforter and filtration device positioned itself specifically as a
09:06product to safeguard your marriage from the strife that could result from poorly digested
09:09cabbage.
09:10On the other hand, not married?
09:12Fire away.
09:13God, Calvin!
09:14Let me out!
09:15The Better Marriage Blanket concealed an inner layer of activated carbon fabric, ostensibly
09:20the same substances used by U.S. armed forces to protect against chemical weapons.
09:25Even when used on top of bedsheets, offending molecules are absorbed before anyone knows
09:29they're there.
09:30The original website has vanished from the internet, so we can't say if the Better Marriage
09:34Blanket was machine-washable or had to be trucked to a hazardous materials station for
09:38incineration.
09:39The product was, according to reports, invented by a bowhunter who had the brainwave while
09:42researching ways to conceal his giveaway odor from deer.
09:45It's hard to imagine the Better Marriage Blanket really taking off.
09:48It was $49.95 in 2010 dollars, reduced from the original $120 price tag, and a sincere
09:55presentation under the Christmas tree might have sparked the very argument the product
09:58hoped to avoid.
10:00According to the origin story of the MyPillow website, pitchman Mike Lindell was once just
10:04a kid with a dream — a dream of a more comfortable pillow.
10:08After tossing and turning throughout his entire youth, the adult Lindell became a betting
10:11entrepreneur, offering pillows personalized by firmness, quantity of filling, and external
10:16fabric, all for what he seems to think is a reasonable price.
10:19Sleepwear, sheets, body pillows, coffee with a flag-waving Lindell on the packaging, and
10:24apple cider vinegar gummies supplement the pillows, creating the image of a coziness
10:28empire.
10:29Unfortunately for people who want the government out of their bedrooms, Lindell has emerged
10:33as an outspoken conspiracy theorist and devotee of Donald Trump.
10:36The MyPillow guy has been in and out of courtrooms for the past several years.
10:40He was sued for defamation in his attempts to sow doubt about the 2020 election results
10:44and found financially liable for having lost a bet that the election was rigged.
10:47They did it in all the states, every single state.
10:49And they changed the vote.
10:50Every single state.
10:52He's now allegedly personally bankrupt.
10:54Lindell also made headlines in September 2024 for marking some of his products down to $14.88.
10:59In case you're not hip to white supremacy lingo, both 14 and 88 are numbers significant
11:05to neo-Nazi groups.
11:07While none of this directly reflects on the quality of his products, consumers turned
11:10off by Lindell's positions and those who simply want a pillow uninvolved in the culture war
11:15will likely turn elsewhere, capping MyPillow's market share.