Free Republic

Best-selling author Kevin Trudeau, whose name became synonymous with late-night TV pitches, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for bilking consumers through ubiquitous infomercials for his book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About." As he imposed the sentence prosecutors had requested, U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman portrayed the 50-year-old Trudeau as a habitual fraudster going back to his early adulthood. So brazen was Trudeau, the judge said, he once even used his own mother's Social Security number in a scheme. "Since his 20s, he has steadfastly attempted to cheat others for his own...

Infomercials increase dopamine levels because they create a problem that drives our brains nuts. Then they offer a quick and easy solution. The mere fact our brain identifies this solution produces some dopamine. It’s our brains way of rewarding us for moving our species forward. "Dopamine plays a key role in keeping us focused on our goals and motivating us to meet them, rewarding our attention and achievement by elevating our mood. That is, we feel good when we work towards our goals." So basically buying something on that solves a problem you never knew you had gives you a...

Channel surfing this afternoon, Discovery Channel has somehow lost all the shows I like this weekend, and I'm bored. Even though, it's a slow news day - I decided on the default choice: Fox News. Lo and behold: "But Wait! Order in the next (insert time frame here) minutes, and you can double your order for free, just pay shipping and handling". That's when the epiphany struck, and it became clear. Bet you'll realize it's true, also:

Tune out those frenzied, annoying infomercial pitchmen -- Consumer Reports says a lot of their products just slice and dice your wallet. In a feature titled "Should you 'buy this now!'?" in its February issue, the magazine said that, based on its tests, the answer is usually no. After testing 15 products, the experts at CR suggest some of the items consumers can skip are the Slap Chop dicer, the Snuggie, the ShamWow, the AbCircle Pro, Debbie Meyer Green Bags and the iRobot Looj gutter cleaner.

Only 15 minutes into their daily brainstorming session, the executives at the Telebrands infomercial headquarters think they've already found their next miracle product. Heads are nodding vigorously around the conference table as vice president Bob Barnett dangles what looks like an ordinary plastic hook. But wait, there's more, he says: It's a car hook for a woman's purse, so "if she takes a tight turn, the purse doesn't spill out." The room breaks into loud chattering, then hushes as chief executive A.J. Khubani mulls the idea. "We need a woman's advice," Khubani finally says, swiveling to face the makeup artist...

Television "pitchman" Billy Mays — who built his fame by appearing on commercials and infomercials promoting household products and gadgets — died Sunday. Mays was found unresponsive by his wife inside his Tampa, Fla., home at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Thread and poster zotted, but Egon posted this link which, IMHO, is worth highlighting: http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/auto_cool

NEW YORK, NY, United States (UPI) -- U.S. entrepreneur Ron Popeil says he has made more than $100 million selling spray-on hair, his rotisserie and the Pocket Fisherman on infomercials. 'I`ve been on TV every day for the past seven years; in those years, I`ve spent more than $300 million on air time for my rotisserie alone,' he told the December issue of FHM. 'My best sales hour was probably $500,000 on (cable`s) QVC. The numbers for selling retail on TV are much larger than wholesale. Sell $7 million rotisseries with a retail price of $200 and you`ve got a...

CNN had a week-long program running from May 14 through May 22, 2005: Eye on ChinaHowever, a Chinese media expert recently disclosed that this news serie was paid by Chinese government as a PR campaign to improve its image. The last paragraph of the Duowei story reads: The lack of worldwide recognizable brands among Chinese media makes it necessary to seek help from other big names of other countries occasionally. According to Yu Guoming (chief of Media Institute, People's University of China), the Eye on China week-long serie on CNN was organized by China's public relations agency. "It's a money-consuming...

The big three television networks have cut back coverage of the two major political conventions this year to an all-time low, with network executives complaining that the Democrat and GOP gatherings are nothing but glorified political infomercials. But at least two of the networks don't seem to mind infomercials - as long as they promote their own in-house products. The Washington Post recently offered a few stunning examples on of how ABC and CBS use their airwaves to feather their own corporate nests. Friday night, for instance, ABC's "20/20" covered the latest reality show to hit the airwaves, "Growing Up...

From the Washington Politics & Policy Desk, 3/28/2003 7:58 PM HIGHLANDS, N.C., March 28 (UPI) -- This here's the 343rd Report ta the Folks Back Home from the (More er Less) Honorable Billybob, cyberCongressman from Western Carolina. I's watched two thangs this week. One wazza war what is now mos'ly won with blindin speed n minimum loss ov life. T'other waz an incredibly obnoxious infomercial fer a kitchen tool. Since ma able assistant, J. Armor, Esq., izza student ov TV programmin, I'll turn this over ta him. (Author's note: Hundreds of thousands of American, British, and Australian men and women...