A couple of weeks ago, the SeenOnTV Express blog discussed As Seen On TV kids products created to provide comfort and fun for children.  This week, we feature a special offer on an exciting children’s magazine series.  I’m pretty excited about SeenOnTV Express being able to offer Zoobooks magazines and its sister publications, Zoobies and Zootles.  Zoobooks (and Zoobies and Zootles) are children’s magazines that are all about animals.  They feature vibrant photographs and detailed, colorful illustrations that help a child to learn all about his or her favorite animals and to discover animals he or she never knew existed.  By appealing to a child’s natural love of animals, Zoobooks engages early readers and helps encourage a love of reading.

“Now, wait just a minute,” you may be saying to yourself.  ”Why is this blogger, who is so obsessed with Forever Lazy and the Instyler, getting all excited about a science magazine for kids?”

Well, let me tell you:

1. I’m an ex-librarian, so I totally dig reading.  Old librarians never die, you know . . . we just check out.
2. I’m the mom of a pre-schooler.  This may explain why I’m so enamored by the thought of an adult onesie and an easy way to fix my hair without resorting to a ponytail.  Again.

These two facets of my life have shown me how important reading is, and how critical it is to foster reading while children are still young.  In fact, my child is too young to read, but when he finds a book about something that appeals to him–animals, for example–he will sit and look at the pictures and talk about what he’s “reading” for quite a while.  In fact, books often hold his attention longer than movies or television, which just thrills my  little heart to no end.

Here is what I love about Zoobooks:

1. A magazine subscription allows a child to continually receive new reading material.  By the time your child loses his or her infatuation with one issue a new issue arrives.  Mail!  New animals!  New pictures!  New stories!  New games! What’s not to love?
2. Zoobooks are geared specifically toward young children and each publication is uniquely tailored for an appropriate age group.  Zoobies is for babies and toddlers aged 0-3; Zootles is for pre-readers and emerging readers aged 3-6; and Zoobooks is for school children aged 6-12.  These magazines are designed to reach children where they are, with text, illustrations, photography, and information appropriate for a child’s specific level of development.  Appealing to a child’s interests encourages a natural learning, without rules and rote memorization.  Children are naturally inquisitive, and Zoobooks satisfies that search for knowledge.
3. Reading with your child builds communication and involvement.  By questioning your child and commenting about what you are reading together, you build critical thinking skills:  ”Why do you think that kangaroo has a pouch?”  ”I wonder why that tarsier’s eyes are so big.”  ”How do you think it would feel to sleep upside down like a bat?”  By reading with your child, you will be actively engaged in his or her learning, thoughts, and ideas.  This type of communication can help strengthen your relationship with your child for when you have to ask more serious questions:  ”What will you do when someone offers you . . .”

As Seen On TV educational materials can be a valuable resource for your child, and I’m pleased that SeenOnTV Express can add Zoobooks, Zootles, and Zoobies magazines to our product catalog.  Other educational products we offer include Brainetics and Hooked on Phonics.

As I was researching topics for this week’s SeenOnTV Blog post, I came across an infomercial for the Double Burner, a piece of As Seen On TV exercise equipment circa 1992.  I don’t actually recall this specific infomercial–perhaps that is because in 1992 I was graduating from high school and starting college, and I may or may have been preoccupied with more important things, like prepping for the SAT or meeting cute college boys.  Though the Double Burner itself does not ring a bell with me, it definitely reflects two of the hottest fitness trends of the eighties and nineties:  the stair stepper and the cross country ski machine.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=desxwsNC-oY&feature=related

I love the Double Burner infomercial, I must say.  Rather than smoothly gliding through their workouts, the fitness models look like they are sludging through mud, leaving me to think the Double Burner could use a double dose of WD-40.  But even as they trudge through this difficult workout, they manage to stay sexy; Little Miss Purple-Sports-Bra-and-Pink-Slouch-Socks even manages to drop an over-the-shoulder come-hither glance.

By combining stepping action with cross-country ski arms, the Double Burner users certainly seem to be working harder than their Easy Glider using counterparts.  After all, the Easy Glider was a cross-country ski machine alone.  While Easy Glider users and Double Burner users shared similar fitness attire (spandex, anyone?), those poor Easy Gliders just didn’t have the sex appeal of the Double Burners:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=VOo0WwCuujE&NR=1

“Hey.  For the money, Easy Glider really is the best.”  Is that really a selling point?  Saying it is the best you can get for $19.95?  Still, for the budget conscious, the Easy Glider may have trumped the $177 Double Burner.  Besides, just look how pleased Little Miss Lavender Lycra is when she slides her Easy Glider under the bed.  Also?  I’m pretty sure we owned this back in the day.

The Double Burner, however, was on to something with its 2-in-1 approach to infomercial exercise equipment.  Through the process of As Seen On TV product evolution, greater things have come to pass.  My favorite example is the Bowflex Treadclimber, which combines treadmill, stair stepper, and elliptical trainer into one effective machine.  While the Treadclimber fitness models feature smokin’ hot bodies, like those oiled up Double Burners, they don’t seem like they are actively trying to seduce you.  The Bowflex Treadclimber is legit–giving you an effective calorie burning workout without having to resort to the sex-sells approach of the early nineties.  Slouch socks optional.

It is hard to believe that it has been nine years since the invention of a product that revolutionized children’s comfort and precipitated a spate of dual-purpose As Seen On TV products for kids.  What was the groundbreaking product launched in 2003?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrU-TWUA9Hw

Pillow Pets sold like crazy, becoming one of the most popular Christmas gifts in 2003.  As a stuffed animal/pillow combination, Pillow Pets appealed to kids’ love of cuddly things and it appealed to their parents’ desire to comfort their children without adding more clutter.  By serving as both a soft plush animal and a pillow, travel became easier, naptime became easier, TV time became easier.  A child playing with his favorite stuffed animal could take snuggling a step further by just falling asleep on it.

Since then, several other As Seen On TV products for children have followed the dual-purpose model of Pillow Pets:

• Happy Nappers – Unzips and reverses from a play pillow shaped like an animal’s home to a plush animal that resides within it.  For example, a castle reveals a dragon, a doghouse reveals a puppy, and an igloo reveals a penguin.
• Blankid Buddy – Blankid Buddies take the two-in-one animal/pillow idea to the next level.  Each Blankid Buddy is a backpack, blanket, pillow, and stuffed animal–a four-in-one cuddle companion that is ideal for travel.
• Pawggles – Pawggles differentiate themselves by breaking away from the pillow idea.  Rather, Pawggles (from “paws” plus “giggles”) are stuffed animals that convert to funny house slippers.

The newest As Seen On TV kids’ offering in the animal/bedtime genre is CuddleUppets.  A CuddleUppet is most similar to a Blankid Buddy in that both are animal/blanket combinations.  However, each CuddleUppets animal is a puppet rather than a regular stuffed animal.  In addition, CuddleUppets feature a large blanket measuring 28″ by 39″, big enough to wrap around your child.  A CuddleUppet can be used as a puppet alone, and it can be used while your child is swaddled in the blanket.   Even as your child sleeps, the CuddleUppet puppet head can be used much as any “lovey.”

CuddleUppets come in six styles and colors:

• Poodle (pink)
• Monkey (purple)
• Puppy (yellow)
• Crocodile (green)
• Elephant (blue)
• Bear (brown)

CuddleUppets features special quantity pricing; the more you buy, the more you save.  Because CuddleUppets are puppets and not mere stuffed animals, having the full menagerie can make for some fun puppet shows for your kids.

For your first SeenOnTV Express blog post of 2012, we’re going to bring back Way Back Wednesday, looking back at the As Seen On TV products that have shaped the infomercial products of today.  Since the new year brings with it resolutions to lose weight and get fit, this week’s Way Back Wednesday post is going to focus on one of the leading As Seen On TV fitness gurus.  No, we’re not talking about Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons here.  We’re talking about none other than direct response marketing’s hirsute hero Tony Little.

Tony Little is perhaps best known for marketing the Gazelle in his fitness infomercials.  The Gazelle is not a treadmill, cross coutry ski machine, or elliptical trainer; rather, it is a “glider.”  To get a low-impact aerobic workout, Gazelle users glide their legs back and forth as seen in this iconic infomercial for Tony Little’s Gazelle:

However, Tony Little does so much more than the Gazelle.  In fact, he has more than 130 products ranging from exercise equipment such as the Gazelle, the Ab Lounger, and the X-Band Exerciser to Cheeks Footwear fit body shoes.  From pillows to bison meat, Tony Little sells just about anything designed to help his followers live a healthier life.

Tony Little has become such an infomercial legend that he has been featured on ABC News’ Nightline and Forbes Video.  The Forbes feature demonstrates how Tony Little has overcome adversity in order to build an infomercial fitness empire totaling more than $3 billion in product sales:

Nightline‘s in-depth feature looked at Tony Little from all angles, from his famous hair to this “best of Tony Little” montage:

Tony Little’s As Seen On TV exercise equipment makes his workouts look completely achievable.  Whereas the current trend in infomercial fitness is videos and equipment that look hard-core, Tony Little portrays his products as low-impact yet effective.  He encourages viewers through his trademark, “You can do it!”

What you can’t do, however, is get this picture out of your head:

You’re welcome.