Why won't Ron Jeremy say 'penis' on the air? This and many more important questions are pondered at the Ridiculous Infomercial Review. If you click in the next 20 minutes, you'll receive Matthew Lesko's wardrobe, absolutely free!!
posted by PrinceValium on Jan 27, 2004 - 6 comments

Miss Cleo Part II Who calls these hucksters? This is simultaneously hilarious and sad. Be sure to listen to the audio.
posted by McBain on Mar 15, 2002 - 6 comments

The Soul of an Old Machine This is a wonderful article on Ron Popeil, founder of Ronco (remember the pocket fisherman?) and the Showtime Rotisserie. Besides some great reading on the marketing of pre-digital technology, Gladwell has some great things to say about usability.

If Ron had been the one to introduce the VCR, in other words, he would not simply have sold it in an infomercial. He would also have changed the VCR itself, so that it made sense in an infomercial. The clock, for example, wouldn't be digital. (The haplessly blinking unset clock has, of course, become a symbol of frustration.) The tape wouldn't be inserted behind a hidden door--it would be out in plain view, just like the chicken in the rotisserie, so that if it was recording you could see the spools turn. The controls wouldn't be discreet buttons; they would be large, and they would make a reassuring click as they were pushed up and down, and each step of the taping process would be identified with a big, obvious numeral so that you could set it and forget it.
posted by mecran01 on May 3, 2001 - 21 comments

Here's a gross mis-use of the web: 800-357-7766.com. This mail order company is spamming the airwaves with commercials for their goofy 'tap lights,' and at the end of each commerical, they advertise their website with this unwieldy address. For less than $50, the company could have bought 'taplights.com' and directed customers there, but instead they force people to write down an address that goes against all the reasons why we have the domain registry in the first place. Why don't they just give our their IP address instead? It's about as useful as their phone number domain name.
posted by mathowie on Dec 25, 1999 - 0 comments