BILLY MAYS MEMORIAL CAPS LOCK DAY: 06.28

June 28, 2010 – 12:17 pm by Catherine

It’s hard to believe it’s been an entire year, but today is the first anniversary of Billy Mays’ death. Are you rocking that blue shirt? ‘Cause you gotta – it’s how we honor the greatest pitchman who ever pitched a product. A year ago today he passed away at the age of 50, leaving us to eulogize him on YouTube and mop our tears with Zorbeez (the power to absorb up to 27 times greater than paper towels or any cotton cloth!).

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! According to urbandictionary.com, it’s officially Billy Mays Day: “It’s Traditional to wear a blue collared shirt with a white under shirt. Must also wear khakis. You must use CAPS LOCK the whole day. Even when talking to family or friends. If you can grow a beard by then, you are the man.”

SO, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE’S SOME LINKS TO HELP YOU CELEBRATE BILLY MAYS REMEMBRANCE DAY:

• LA TIMES: ONE YEAR AGO, BILLY MAYS
• DISCOVERY CHANNEL: PITCHMEN, REMEMBERING BILLY
• BUZZFEED.COM: BILLY MAYS MEMORIAL CAPS LOCK DAY 6.28
• MYFOXTAMPABAY.COM: A YEAR LATER, BILLY MAYS’ LEGACY LIVES ON
• JACKSONVILLE.COM: TODAY IN FLORIDA HISTORY
• ASSEENONTVVIDEO.COM: TOP TEN BILLY MAYS COMMERCIALS

WE MISS YOU, BILLY.

Tower 200 now with Free Straight Bar

June 26, 2010 – 11:46 am by Savvy Shopper

The Tower 200 is now even better. Get a Straight Bar ($20 value) free with your order. Order now! As Randy Couture says, “What are you waiting for?”

The Body by Jake Tower 200 one-payment offer has always included:

1. The Tower 200
2. 11-Minute Mother of All Workouts DVD featuring Randy Couture
3. 4 Additional Power-Packed Workouts on DVD
4. Body-Shredding Drop-Down Workout Chart
5. Isolation Training Drop-Down Chart
6. Ankle Straps and Custom Padded Grips
7. Illustrated Instructional Manual with 200 Killer Exercises
8. Free Shipping
9. Limited Lifetime Warranty

New Product Tuesday with UGlu Adhesive

June 22, 2010 – 10:47 am by Savvy Shopper

UGlu is a new all-purpose adhesive you may have seen advertised on TV recently. Here’s what your Savvy Shopper likes about this sticky product:

1. UGlu comes in sheets. Just peel away the backing and stick. Totally not messy and won’t dry out like the old bottles of glue you have sitting on the shelf. Nothing to mix like epoxy.
2. Works on wood, plastics, fabrics, metals, ceramics and more. One glue for all jobs around the house. Sticks to everything but your fingers, according to the ad.
3. Removes easily without residue or mess.
4. One of the best short-form infomercials I’ve seen. Fast-paced with lively music, creative editing, and oodles of convincing demonstrations of the product.
5. An engaging spokesperson who is both likable and credible. He’s truly excited to tell you about UGlu sans carnival barker brashness. Who is this guy? I predict a great career as pitchman if he that’s a career path he chooses to pursue.

What I don’t like about UGlu:

1. The name, which is pronounced “You Glue.” It sounds good when you say it, but  shoved together into one word, someone who hasn’t seen the commercial might think it’s pronounced “Ugg Glue.”
2. I’ve seen quite enough creative capitalization in product names, thank you. If you really need to capitalize the second letter of the name, don’t capitalize the first letter too. Follow Apple’s lead (iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad) and make it uGlu instead. Capitalizing the first two letters is just hard to read.
3. Why is the spokesperson wearing a headset?  That’s Vince from ShamWow’s shtick. Why try to copy him?

Watch the spot and let me know what you think:

Vince from ShamWow’s Commercial for Eminem’s Recovery CD

June 16, 2010 – 9:49 am by Savvy Shopper

Am I dreaming, or is this really the one and only Vince Offer Shlomi from ShamWow and Slap Chop, pitching the new CD from Eminem, Recovery? I’d been hearing rumors about a new product from Vince, but this is not what I expected! Too bad the ShamPon is sold out.

New Product Tuesday with (I think I need a) Hug Light

June 15, 2010 – 12:40 pm by Savvy Shopper

Your Savvy Shopper is going to be honest with you. I’ve reviewed hundreds of As Seen on TV products over the past few years. Many are useful and cool, but few get me all tingly in anticipation of how they could enhance my daily life. The new Hug Light is one that definitely makes the cut. It’s two LED lights (one focused and one wide beam) on either end of a foam-covered bendable steel alloy arm. You can coil the Hug Light into a stand-up lamp, wear it around your neck, or bend it around your wrist to put portable task lighting right where you need it. Here are the uses shown in the infomercial, and I’m sure you can think of many others:

1. Working under the hood of your car.
2. Early morning jogging or dog walking.
3. Plumbing work in the basement or under the sink.
4. Reading.
5. Grilling at night.
6. Studying maps or playing games in the car without distracting the driver.
7. Roadside emergencies.
8. Camping.

Oh, bendable, wearable source of light, what can’t you illuminate? I give Hug Light two thumbs up, because I can use it with both hands free!

Fuzzoodles: New Creative Kids Toy

June 13, 2010 – 10:16 am by Savvy Shopper

Need a fun and creative new toy to keep kids engaged this summer, during those rainy days and long car rides? Check out Fuzzoodles, a crafty new toy that’s a clever mashup of Bendaroos and Mr. Potato Head. Love the catchy theme song, too.

Joan Rivers Great Hair Day: Heads Up!

June 12, 2010 – 2:33 pm by Catherine

Wow, Joan Rivers is on a roll – not satisfied with just making our legs look perfect, she’s launched Joan Rivers Great Hair Day fill-in powder to give us instantly thicker, fuller hair. Waterproof, sweat-proof, but easy to shampoo out, you can also use it to cover roots between salon visits. It’s available in 5 different shades to match anyone’s color and the professional-quality 2-in-1 Applicator is a no-brainer to use. Great Hair Day works for men as well as women – bald spots, be gone!

It seems Joan Rivers Beauty is on a mission to restore, renew and rebuild every area of the body. Next, Joan’s working on a foot cream so she can say she’s got you covered, head to toe. Wonder how she found the time to star in a new documentary film? The Chinese say this is the Year of the Tiger, but Joan’s making it the Year of the Cougar – rawr!!!

Cathy Mitchell and Dr. Steve Brule on Tim and Eric Awesome Show

June 9, 2010 – 2:35 pm by Savvy Shopper

After featuring Cathy Mitchell on yesterday’s post, your Savvy Shopper thought some of you might be amused by this clip from Adult Swim‘s Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!, where Cathy pitches the fictional Griddleman along with actor John C. Reilly playing Dr. Steve Brule (now star of his own Adult Swim show Check It Out!). Who knew that Cathy could do comedy? Smells like horse!

New(ish) Product Tuesday with Microwave Pasta Boat

June 8, 2010 – 11:07 am by Savvy Shopper

Old Product

New(ish) Product

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’s Pasta 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.

Hot (News) Flash about GEM Keep it cool

June 4, 2010 – 3:32 pm by Catherine

Sticky summer heat plus the intense hot flashes of menopause can make it hard for a gal to keep her cool. So when a product comes along that promises to reduce the intensity and frequency of hot flashes, irritability, sleeplessness and night sweats, ‘women of a certain age’ sit up and take notice. And when it tastes like a fruit smoothie, we reach for our plastic.

Given the controversy surrounding hormone replacement therapy, many women are choosing to treat the symptoms of menopause with natural and nature identical supplements. lists some well-known hot-flash fighters like Black Cohosh, calcium and vitamin D, as well as a host of other vitamins and herbal ingredients. With so many women Baby Boomers reaching menopause, GEM Keep it cool™ could be a real hot item. The woman-owned Beveragette Ventures company is offering GEM Keep it cool™ (or GemKIC, as those in the know say) for less than $2 a day for a limited time. Hmmm, is it hot in here, or is it just me?