As Seen On TV Blog | News | New | Products | Infomercial

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.