Show Notes Episode 388: As Seen on TV

This week Host Dave Bledsoe is making a one time special offer for the low, low price of him not paying this bar tab if you just act now! (The bartender didn’t take him up on it.) On the show this week we take a look back at the origins of every late night bad decision in your life that did not involve a fellow bar patron with one eye and prison tattoo on their forehead, the infomercial. 

Along the way we discover how Dave blocks commercials all the while making you listen to them so he can get paid. (Fucking hypocrite!) Then we dive right into the history of late night television and why you can only see cheesy products and washed up celebrities after 1 AM. (They need jobs too!) Then we explain why infomercials are so cheap and ubiquitous. (Do we play a bunch of them, you bet we do!) Then we tell you the tale of the man who almost (well he wasn’t even close) became President using the power of infomercials. (He actually just made Bill Clinton President.)

Our Sponsor this week is the Beer Bladder, why pay outrageous prices for beer when you can squeeze it right out of your Beer Bladder. We open the show with a little practical advice and close with some cheesy corporate soft rock commercial music.  

Show Theme: Hypnostate Prelude to Common Sense

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Closing Music: https://youtu.be/9fn2kUnyCr4

We are a proud member of the Seltzer Kings Podcast Network! http://seltzerkings.com/

Citations Needed:

About Kevin Harrington

https://kevinharrington.tv/

Wikipedia Informercials

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infomercial

TV Infomercials Draw Mixed Reactions

https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/04/nyregion/tv-infomercials-draw-mixed-reactions.html?pagewanted=2

Remind Me, Why Was It That We Ever Watched Infomercials?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/style/infomercials-television-prozac.html

Selling Salvation?

https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=3164858&page=1

Uncited Additional Reading:  

https://www.bustle.com/p/16-things-you-wanted-from-infomercials-in-the-90s-7994328

https://www.yesteryearretro.com/2022/05/15-totally-awesome-90s-infomercial.html

https://www.ranker.com/list/worst-infomercials-from-the-1990s/melissa-sartore

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/19-infomercial-toys-90s-werent-164602771.html

https://cafemom.com/news/198143-13_fly_infomercial_products_from’

https://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/02/meet-the-members-of-the-infomercial-hall-of-fame.html

https://www.thedailybeast.com/12-favorite-infomercial-pitchmen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infomercial

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-24-ca-1245-story.html

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/infomercial.asp

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot

https://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/27/nyregion/the-1992-campaign-the-media-perot-s-30-minute-tv-ads-defy-the-experts-again.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/business/media/22adco.html

https://www.fastcompany.com/1794515/greatest-infomercial-parodies-all-time

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