Infomercial
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TiVo and PayPal let you buy stuff using your remote, hopes you swing past the shopping channel
Those late-night adverts for a steam-powered ab-crunching bagel toaster (just $400, plus $99 postage and packing!) will soon be much harder to resist, thanks to TiVo. The DVR maker has teamed up with PayPal to enable you to purchase goods with your remote control during the commercial. A global financial meltdown will probably ensue just as soon as the company can get compatible adverts developed, which is currently slated to begin airing during this year's fall TV season. Update: According to PayPal, it's also "exploring" opportunities with Comcast, although discussions are still in early stages.
Reserve Power: When inventor meets informercial, Part 2
Ross Rubin contributes Reserve Power, a column focused on personal perspectives and products. Last week's Reserve Power took you behind the scenes of technology and infomercials, and this week we're bringing it to its natural conclusion. Catch up by reading last week's installment here, and catch the rest just below.
Reserve Power: When inventor meets informercial, Part 1
Ross Rubin contributes Reserve Power, a column focused on personal perspectives and products. They come from across the country to a conference room at Telebrands, the Fairfield, NJ-based infomercial marketer that serves as the arbiter in the TV show Pitchmen. It was Inventors Day, an event that the company holds around the country about every six weeks. Those who submit the best ideas to inventorsday@telebrands.com are invited to present. At stake, the chance to design Telebrands' next hit product and become a millionaire. And all that stood between them and fortune was a convincing pitch to the judging panel (made up of CEO A.J. Khubani, his wife Poonam Khubani, and marketing advisor Don Braca) and a permanently installed five-foot long model of a PedEgg -- invented by the Telebrands CEO in '97 -- signed by company well-wishers.
Serious Sam HD keeps it classy with new infomercial
A classic "As Seen on TV" infomercial seems more than fitting for the self-parodying, Croatian-developed FPS, Serious Sam -- now "more definition-ier than ever." As with any infomercial, you must be wary of all the numbers and testimonials used. For example, we highly doubt the game runs at "6005 polygons per krundle." We're fairly certain this game doesn't even feature krundles ... unless Croteam has added some truly surprising new content to the upcoming HD remix. %Gallery-66818% [Thanks, iHavePants]
Sharper Image will continue to hawk crap, only as a brand
Sharper Image died an inglorious death in February and then went through some embarrassing death spasms, but it sounds like liquidators Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners have realized that there's still some value in the Sharper Image name -- they've just announced a plan to rent the name out to other companies looking to spruce up their knockoff crap. The idea is for the Sharper Image name to lend credibility to infomercial and catalog products, and there's even talk of wholesaling to Target and Best Buy, with the goal of reaching annual sales of $1B. That's a lot of air purifiers -- let's hope America's late-night TV shoppers think more highly of Sharper Image than pretty much everyone else we know.
Cooking Mama cooking tips and infomercial
It's no secret that many players found the Cooking Mama: Cook Off controls just a little frustrating. Instead of being a game that could highlight the further potential of the Wiimote, what we ended up getting at a whopping $50 price tag (for what really should have been a budget title) was a game which highlighted Wiimote issues. Some who don't fear the Nintendo Defense Force might even have defined these issues as "problems." This made Mama angry and you wouldn't like Mama when she's angry. So, Majesco came out with some tips on how to improve your Cooking Mama: Cook Off experience: For rolling truffles, place the Wii Remote flat in the palm of your hand, as if it's the truffle. Once in your hand, roll the Wii Remote in your hand as if it's the truffle. For egg cracking, hold the Wii Remote up in the air vertically and bring it down as if there is an invisible bowl in front of you. To grind meat, hold the Wii Remote horizontally in your hand and make the crank motion as if there is a meat grinder in front of you. For stirring, hold the Wii Remote upside down and stir as if it's a spoon. To flip items in the frying pan, flick your wrist as you would with a real pan. Three flips consecutively will earn you bonus points. Cracking 3 eggs with only one initial attempt will earn you bonus points. In certain recipes, you can turn the heat up or down on the stove before the direction reaches the line. After the break we have an "infomercial" perfect for late-night viewing. We don't even feel the need to say anything about it, but the simple fact that we put it after the break probably tells you something ... watch if you dare.
