Yay! The Explosives Network Discovery Channel has actually had some new shows on in the last two weeks – best of all, new Mythbusters. There was also a new Time Warp this week. I’m not sure about that show. Sometimes I’ll see something on it that makes me say, “Wow, that was really cool,” but overall I don’t find it all that interesting.
I watched one episode of Pitchmen. My attitude toward direct marketing TV ads has always been, if the stuff was any good you would be able to walk into a store and buy it. They wouldn’t sell it “only on TV” so you have to send your money without being able to actually see the product and they wouldn’t need all the shouting and the questionable demonstrations to convince you to buy it. Also the “a [$100] value for only [$29.95]” bit always annoys me. I have never seen anything on any of those ads that could possibly be worth any more than what they were selling it for.
After watching Pitchmen… my attitude hasn’t changed all that much but I was impressed with the impact gel (or whatever they were called) insoles and now I’m willing to admit that maybe some of the stuff they sell on those ads is not complete garbage. You can get some of those products in stores. Our local Walgreens sells some of them. I haven’t been in to look yet but they were advertising a lot of “as seen on TV” stuff on their digital sign outside the store.
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I finally watched Fringe. Thank you, Brit Gal for encouraging me to give it a try. I like it. I hope it will last for another season or two.
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The last few episodes of Chuck have been very interesting. There’s not much I can say without spoiling the most recent episode but the story arc has really developed on this show and I’m nearly going nuts wondering what’s next.
April 24th, 2009 - 8:20 am
The warning flag on As Seen On TV items goes up when they tell you if you call now, we’ll double your order. Right away, that tells you the stuff is at least twice the price it should be selling for.
April 24th, 2009 - 9:30 am
I’m always amazed how they can make ordinary tasks seem like BIG GIANT PROBLEMS that can ONLY be solved by the purchase of their project.
Two case studies: aqua-globes and Snuggie.
Aqua-globes – they make watering houseplants look like some form of torture. And as if no one can possibly do it right – either they underwater and the plant wilts, or they over water and the water runs everywhere. And the frowny face the woman has on while watering is classic.
Snuggie: it makes blankets look like an unspeakably poor solution because they “slip off your arms” Oh noes! If that’s a problem, I just get up and get one of the several sweatshirts I already own.
I also will remark that few of those adds tell what the shipping and handling charges are. It’s my understanding that in many cases, that’s where they get you – it’s a $12 “handling charge” on an item worth, at most, $8.