One thing’s for certain when it comes to As Seen on TV products: what’s old will someday be new again (or presented as such). Back in 1982, my then-girlfriend’s mother gave us her old microwave when she purchased a new one. One of the accessories she included with this generous gift was a round plastic microwave crisping tray with raised ribs and a channel around the perimeter to capture grease. It worked pretty well to cook bacon and reheat pizza. In fact, it was very similar to today’s “new” product, the Magic Crisp. That’s not a bad thing, because useful products are always welcome in the home, even if they’re not newly invented.
BTW, my girlfriend let me keep the hand-me-down nuker when she moved out after our relationship fizzled. It reheated pizza for several more years, until the morning your Savvy Shopper awoke to no clean underwear. I washed a pair in the sink, then wondered how I would get them dry so I could get on the road and not be late for work. You know where this is heading. My bright idea was to dry them in the microwave. This plan probably would have worked, had I stayed in the kitchen and monitored the progress closely. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I heard the sounds of fail. I rushed to the kitchen to discover my tighty whities on fire and a lightning storm taking place inside the microwave. I pulled the plug, opened the door, grabbed the undies with tongs and flung them in the sink. The microwave was fried, but luckily I didn’t set my apartment building on fire.
Disaster averted, I dressed and left for work. I’d be going commando.
For my birthday last year, my husband bought me a very up-scale Japanese chef’s ceramic knife (I don’t know exactly how much he paid, but it’s the three-figure one). Now along comes the YoshiBlade ceramic knife at the more modest price of $19.99 (plus shipping and handling, as usual) – what to do, what to do? I’d love to try it on this summer’s tomatoes after seeing the demo – but it feels like culinary infidelity. I’m tempted; just like my expensive ceramic knife, the YoshiBlade is made of diamond-hard, stain-proof zirconium oxide, it’s rust- and stain-proof, easy to clean, and will not affect the taste or smell of food. It never needs sharpening, and it has a lifetime warranty. Damn, a professional-quality ceramic slicing knife at a fraction of the retail cost… well, as Oscar Wilde said, "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it." I can resist everything but temptation. After all, you can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many knives.
Always pleased to see a new product from Pitchmen pitchman Anthony Sullivan. With the upcoming 4th of July weekend, your Savvy Shopper is wondering how many ARBBIs (Alcohol-Related Barbeque Burn Injuries) could be prevented if all grillmasters who are chillin’ and grillin’ would slip on the Grill Glove before flipping those steaks, burgers or ribs with their bare hands.
How does a DRTV marketer “freshen up” an As Seen on TV product when it’s been on the market for a couple of years and sales have cooled? If the marketer is Telebrands, and the product is Cathy Mitchell’sPasta N More, you change the name, change the color, lower the price and add more freebies. The result: the kinda-new Pasta Boat. Don’t get me wrong, as your Savvy Shopper is not dissing this product. It’s a very useful microwave pasta maker that lets you cook, drain, serve and store in the same container. And personally, I think pasta looks much more appetizing viewed through clear plastic rather than translucent aqua.
One thing’s for certain when it comes to As Seen on TV products: what’s old will someday be new again (or presented as such). Back in 1982, my then-girlfriend’s mother gave us her old microwave when she purchased a new one. One of the accessories she included with this generous gift was a round plastic microwave crisping tray with raised ribs and a channel around the perimeter to capture grease. It worked pretty well to cook bacon and reheat pizza. In fact, it was very similar to today’s “new” product, the Magic Crisp. That’s not a bad thing, because useful products are always welcome in the home, even if they’re not newly invented.
