100 CLASSICS FOR RELAXATION: Infomercial Review

100 CLASSICS FOR RELAXATION: Infomercial Review

My wife is the Queen of TV Shopping. As soon as she sees a new, innovative product on TV--Whether it's better way to mop the floors or to "reverse the signs of aging," she has to have it. So I was a little offended the other day when she mocked me for my own rare TV purchase. I bought "100 CLASSICS FOR RELAXATION." It's a collection of 5 CDs with 100 different performances of classical music.

You remember classical, don't you? People with names like Tchaikovsky, Bach, and other names that sound like diseases? These are their numbers done by modern day orchestras. I love the classics and I love these CDs. Still, my wife was not impressed.

"CD's? That's so old-school! Where's your iPod?"

My what? Sorry, I just don't get into listening to musc on those little pocket-sized boxes. It still seems like a gimmick to me. Kind of like greeting cards that play music. You'll never find me in a room alone, listening to the Best Hits of the 80s from an opened pack of Hallmark cards.

But then she asked something I couldn't answer. "Why not just make your own CDs?"

"That would be illegal, Dear," I said smugly.

"Not with Tchaikovsky and Bach and Beethoven. I'm pretty sure those guys have been dead long enough that they no longer own the copyright on their music. It's public domain--and free for anyone to use."

Oh, well......Hmmm. Even still, I love this Time-Life collection. The CDs look more impressive in their sophisticated cover jackets than if I just made some cheesy ones myself. So there, wife! Now let me get back to The William Tell Overture....and dream about The Lone Ranger.

Billy Mays - King of the Infomercial Pitchmen

Billy Mays (June 20, 1958 – June 28 2009)

Billy Mays left us, unexpectedly, on Sunday, June 18, 2009. Famous for his in-your-face LOUD style of promotion helped to introduce a generation of shoppers to the innovations of buying products As Seen on TV products.
As the long-time Pitchman King of infomercial products, he will be remembered fondly for his intro “Hi, Billy Mays here...” as well as the innovative products he promoted including OxiClean, ICanHealth, Mighty Putty, Omni Saw and others.
Along with co-host and fellow pitchman Anthony Sullivan, Billy Mays hosted a highly successful TV show that tested infomercial products called The Pitchmen.
There will never be another pitchman like Billy Mays – Long Live the King

FinallyFast.com : Infomercial Review

FinallyFast.com : Infomercial Review

I used to eat cheese as my late-night snacks. No more. The infomercials I see after midnight are “cheese” enough.

I tell you, being an insomniac I’ve seen some complete piece of cheese commercials. The Finally Fast commercial just about takes the cake on cheesiness. This commercial has really bad acting. Who sits in front of their computer and screams to no other apparent people about how slowly their computer is loading. Most people don’t bother yelling, especially if there’s no one there to listen. About the only redeeming quality of the commercial is the twins that open and close the commercial. But, even the twins in the commercial can’t redeem the lack of quality in acting in this particular piece. The production staff needs to go to more classes to learn their trade.

The lighting was way to fluorescent. Nobody’s house is lit by fluorescent lighting, so why are the rooms the actors are located in lighted that way? How bright do things need to be? And to touch on the twins for a second. How many grown up twins do you know that live together? And share a laptop? Most twins I’ve ever met live close to their twin, or even with them, this is true. But, most twins by the time they hit adulthood, don’t share something like a laptop with the other, unless one is showing the other something, at which point the one doing the showing steps away from the computer after setting everything up.

This has got to be one of the most poorly acted and setup commercials I’ve ever seen. Now, there’s nothing wrong with the service, so why can’t the commercial actually leave a more positive impression on it’s watchers? If I were the owner, or marketing person, I would have demanded a re-shoot of this commercial. Finally Fast is a great product and service, so why does the commercial suck so bad? Well, guess you can’t win ‘em all.