http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Commodore%20Skahill/Colin%20McEnroe%20Show%2006-30-2011.mp3
There's something funny about some infomercials. We wasted a certain amount of office time today studying a kind of curved stick that one attaches toilet paper to so that one can extend one's reach.
And there's something vaguely pornographic about other infomercials, like the Tiddy Bear and, for that matter, the Shake Weight.
But the other side of As Seen on TV product is the world of the American tinkerer. The do-it-yourselfer inventing a new tool in the garage or the cook having a Eureka moment in the kitchen. And these people don't have access to the pipeline that books new products on the shelves in the conventional manner.
The big companies that own those pipelines won't take chances on every kooky-looking new product. So a huge new marketplace has evolved.
Yes, some of what it sells is stupid and useless, but some stuff really works. How different is that?
Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
***This episode originally aired June 30, 2011***
