In the past, when the SeenOnTV Express blog has described an As Seen On TV product on our “Way Back Wednesday” feature, the tone of the article has frequently been a bit snarky.  I mean, let’s face it–some of those early ’80s infomercials  we originally featured were a bit ridiculous.  Today, however, I would like to pay homage to an earlier product that launched a new way to clean:  The Steam Buggy.  One of  the first products offered in our As Seen On TV catalog, the Steam Buggy was a portable steam cleaner that allowed users to clean and sanitize hard-to-clean areas throughout their homes.  It was one of the first products to bring the professional power of steam cleaning right into your home, and since its introduction, steam mops and other steam cleaners have become common ways to powerfully and effectively clean floors, kitchens, bathrooms, and more.

So what is it that has brought about my new-found admiration for steam cleaning?  Having a three-and-a-half-year-old dinner companion leaves my kitchen floor in need of a Hazmat crew after every meal.  Ever since we introduced solid food roughly three years ago, we have been sweeping, wiping, mopping, and chiseling food from our lovely cream-colored tile.  Dealing with the kitchen floor seems as unending and relentless as laundry.  I would sooner try to sweep the sand from the Sahara as attempt to maintain a clean kitchen floor.

We currently have four rotating methods for cleaning our kitchen floor:

• Fastidiously wipe up any spills, vacuum any messes, and sweep or mop the offending area after each meal.
• Give the kitchen floor a quick clean-up at the end of each day.
• Clean up the big, gross spots ASAP, but save the mopping for a weekly chore.
• Ignore it and hope the Mop Fairy makes a surprise visit before the grime on the floor petrifies and becomes a permanent pattern on the tile.

None of these methods are particularly effective for our family.  The first takes too much time.  The second is also pretty time consuming and also doesn’t get the floor as clean as I would like.  The third leaves me cringing every time I walk through the kitchen until Mop Day.  And the fourth?  Well, that’s just gross, and apparently, the Mop Fairy is on strike.

Because none of our floor cleaning methods are able to sufficiently battle a preschooler at mealtime, I’ve been looking for a quick and easy way to really, thoroughly clean the floor without spending too much time behind a broomstick.  I have really been considering a steam cleaner to power away the stuck-on foods and to sanitize the floors–particularly since we will be adding another little mealtime terror to the mix in just a few months, one who will be crawling on the very floors in question.

Though the Steam Buggy served its purpose, I’m looking for something a little more conducive to cleaning an entire floor.  Today’s As Seen On TV steam mops seem to fit the bill.  Two products in particular have caught my eye:  the One Touch Steam Tornado and the Shark Professional Steam Pocket Mop.  Both of these steam cleaners are lightweight and feature an upright design.  The Shark Pro Steamer has the look of typical sweeper mops, but provides three levels of steam control, reusable cleaning cloths, shaped cleaning heads, and a carpet glider head for carpet cleaning.  The One Touch Steam Tornado can be used as an upright or handheld device for cleaning virtually anywhere and also features washable, reusable microfiber cleaning pads.

Finally, getting steamed over our kitchen floors is a good thing.

Spring Break is here, and while the very term creates an image of tanned co-eds in bikinis and board shorts frolicking along the beach performing ridiculous alcohol-fueled stunts, the truth is that most of us are older and wiser than that.  For us, Spring Break doesn’t mean tropical frat parties . . . it means spring cleaning.

Spring cleaning is a time to complete all of those DIY projects you’ve been meaning to get around to.  It is a time to clean the things that you’ve forgotten about the rest of the year.  Opening up the windows and doing a deep cleaning can be an exhausting task, but a fresh, clean home cooled by fresh, clean breezes is worth it in the end.  Of course, As Seen On TV cleaning products can eliminate some of the hassles and some of the chemicals that have traditionally accompanied spring cleaning.  Here are some of our favorite cleaners and tools to make your spring cleaning more efficient, more effective, and more environmentally friendly.

As Seen On TV Cleaning Tools

• Monster 1200 Steam Cleaning Machine – When we’re talking about spring cleaning, we’re talking about deep cleaning.  The Monster 1200 cleans and sanitizes your home, using the power of steam rather than toxic chemicals to kill germs on all the surfaces in your home.
• Swivel Sweeper G2 - The Swivel Sweeper G2 is cordless and rechargeable, making it easier to take the G2 wherever you need it, without tripping over cords or searching for outlets.  It features a Touchless Dirt Tray to get rid of the ick-factor, and it features a Back-Saver Elbow Joint to get rid of the ouch-factor, letting you reach areas other vacuums can’t.
• Keeper Sweeper – Traditional sweeper mops are convenient, but they are not designed for every surface, and replacing their disposable pads and cloths is expensive and results in unnecessary waste that clogs landfills and harms the environment.  The Keeper Sweeper offers all of the convenience with none of the guilt.  Keeper Sweeper cloths are reversible, washable, and reusable.  It also features different pads for different surfaces, including a chenille dust pad, a scratch-free glass pad, a scrubber floor mop pad, and a terry floor mop pad.

As Seen On TV Cleaners

• Lasting Protection Antimicrobial Spray – Lasting Protection with MST does what other disinfectants can’t.  It not only kills germs throughout your home, it creates an antimicrobial barrier that protects against bacteria, mold, fungus, and mildew for more than 30 days with each use.
• Whip It Cleaner - If you are into cleaning with a conscience, Whip It cleaner is a must-have product for your spring cleaning.  Infused with eucalyptus and free from toxic chemicals, Whip It is billed as the “earth-friendly miracle cleaner.”  This multi-purpose cleaner is cruelty-free and vegan, and Whip It partners with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to combat animal testing.  Whip It is safe for kids, pets, and the environment, but tough on dirt, grime, and germs.
• George Foreman’s Everyday and More – The man whose revolutionary indoor grill spawned countless imitators now brings us a powerful, green cleaner.  George Foreman’s Everyday and More cleaner is a safe, non-toxic cleaning concentrate that can be diluted to clean virtually anything in your home.  From kitchen and bathroom counters to pet stains and laundry stains, Everyday and More delivers knockout cleaning power without toxic, harmful chemicals.  And if there is one thing George Foreman knows, it is knockout power.

These are just a few of the cleaning products featured in our As Seen On TV Cleaning Aids catalog.  From everyday cleaning to deep cleaning, Seen On TV Express has the products you need to get the job done right.

It has been a while since the SeenOnTV Express blog looked at some of the famous faces of infomercial products.  Ron Popeil may have been the biggest name in infomercials for the previous generation, but more recently, Billy Mays was the name most people associated with As Seen On TV marketing.  However, Mays’s death in 2009 left DRTV marketing looking for a new spokesman, and Mays’s friend and colleague Anthony Sullivan quickly became a household name by selling As Seen On TV household products.

Born in 1969 in Devon, England, Anthony “Sully” Sullivan perfected his pitch on the streets of London, modeling his techniques after the street vendors of that famed city.  When he came to the United States in the 1990′s, he became a product demonstrator and pitchman for the product that would come to be known as the Smart Mop.  When Home Shopping Network (HSN) executives spied Sully, they quickly hired him and launched the Smart Mop into a top-selling As Seen On TV cleaning product.

Before long, Sully was so successful that HSN promoted him to prime time.  After he fulfilled his one-year contract as network show host, Sully realized that he was destined for greater things.  He left HSN to launch his own business, Sullivan Productions.  Sullivan Productions is the creator of commercials for some of the hottest selling infomercial products:

• Swivel Sweeper
• Kaboom
• OxiClean
• Aluma Wallet
• Jupiter Jack
• Heeltastic
• One Second Needle
• H20 Mop
• and more

In 2009, Sully co-starred in the Discovery Channel series Pitchmen, for which he was an Executive Producer, along with fellow infomercial star Billy Mays.  After Mays’s death, Sully continued the series alone in 2010 and 2011.  The series is now available on DVD.

Though Mays’s death left a void, Sully was quickly able to fill his friend’s shoes, becoming the new face of OxiClean, and in fact, the most recognizable face of infomercial products today.  Sully is the main spokesman for A.J. Khubani’s Telebrands, leader in direct response television marketing and creator of the “As Seen On TV” logo.

According to his website, Sully has “launched over twenty products, sold hundreds of millions of millions of dollars worth of merchandise and has been recognized a record breaking three times for making the best commercial of the year by the Electronic Retailing Association.”   He has appeared on The Late Show with Conan O’Brien, and he has been featured on NBC’s 20-20, ABC’s Nightline , CBS, USA Network , BBC, Fox News, Rachel Ray, and Access Hollywood.

In an industry that has recently been rocked by scandal (Vince Offer’s legal troubles and Don Lapre’s federal fraud charges and suicide, for example), Anthony “Sully” Sullivan offers a sense of trust and security.  Along with his reputation and charm, Sully’s personable quips have the audience loving him.  It seems like he’ll continue as one of the industry’s leading pitchmen for years to come.

After all, as Sully says, “Life’s a pitch, and then you buy.”

I’m intrigued by the Flex Seal commercial.  You know, the one where the guy makes a boat out of a screen door by sealing it with the  liquid rubber sealant?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCKbowib9I4

I’m amazed.  Awestruck.  I totally want to get a screen door and see if I can make it float.

That’s one of the things I love about infomercial product demonstrations.  Not only do they point out the difficulties in every day tasks (“Why, now that you mention it, my blanket IS complicated.”), but they show you how effective a product is by using it for a purpose no one will ever need.  Like making a boat out of a screen door–which, now that I think of it, might be a good idea in case of flooding.  I wonder how Hurricane Irene would stand up to Flex Seal?

Intentional misuse of As Seen on TV products for demonstration purposes has been around as long as infomercials themselves.  The original Ginsu knife infomercial from 1978 shows the knife being abused in all sorts of ways.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abLB7aTmnE4

Let’s see . . . I can use my Ginsu knife to:

1. Cut an aluminum can, because you never know when you might need slices of aluminum.
2. Slice bread so thin you can see through it, because who really wants bread interfering with their sandwich?
3. Chop wood, because using a knife is totally easier than using an ax.

You can even hammer your Ginsu knife.  What better way to take out kitchen aggression than hammering the handle of your utensils?

Ginsu may have started the Product Abuse as Demonstration, but they sure aren’t the only ones to effectively utilize this technique.

Krazy Glue takes job site safety to new . . . heights.

• Mighty Putty can pull an 80,000 pound tractor trailer.
• Miracle Blade III can slice a pineapple.  In mid-air.
• The Blendtec blender can pulverize your cell phone.
• The Oreck and Dyson vacuums can pick up a bowling ball.
• Speaking of bowling balls, you can drop one on a Simmons Beautyrest mattress without knocking over the pins.

And just watch the first few seconds of this Billy Mays OxiClean commercial:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jkwQV_5Kb0

You can remove stains from a bowl of water.  A BOWL.  OF WATER.

Amazing.

You have to admit that these crazy testing methods are certainly attention-getting.  I mean, if I have to run over the same piece of popcorn fifteen times with my vacuum (before picking it up, inspecting it, and throwing it back on the floor for another couple of vacuum passes), then maybe I’d be more satisfied with a vacuum that could suction up a bowling ball.  And if my blender can puree my wireless communication device, just imagine what it could do for my smoothies.

It’s important to think of all these contingent uses for your As Seen on TV products.  After all, you wouldn’t want to get stuck up a creek without a screen door.

While this doesn’t go “Way Back,” we here at Seen On TV Express would be remiss if we failed to acknowledge the first anniversary of the death of Billy Mays, one of the leading pitchmen for infomercials and as seen on TV products.  Monday, June 28, 2010, marked one year since the passing of arguably the best television pitchman of this generation.

Billy Mays is perhaps best known for promoting Orange Glo International’s line of cleaning products, which includes Orange Glo, OxiClean, and Kaboom!  After he began selling their products, Orange Glo International saw a marked increase in sales, despite his loud, abrasive technique (which led one Chicago Tribune writer to proclaim the anniversary of his death “ALL CAPS DAY”).  Because of his success, Mays became highly requested as a pitchman for as seen on TV products such as Mighty Putty.  He was so successful that he became founder and CEO of Mays Promotions, Inc.

At the time of his death, Billy Mays was starring with his colleague Andy Sullivan in the Discovery Channel series PitchMen, which chronicled their efforts at direct-response marketing.  Originally titled But Wait . . . There’s More, the series aired a special tribute to Billy Mays after his death.  The series was renewed for a second season with Billy Mays III stepping in for his famous father.

Mays was found dead in his home on June 28, 2009, at the age of 51.  Early speculation tied his sudden death to a head injury Mays suffered during a flight, but the autopsy results concluded his cause of death to be hypertensive heart disease.  Although the initial autopsy found evidence of cocaine in his system, a subsequent autopsy ruled that cocaine was “not a significant contributing factor” in his death.  The release of the toxicology report disappointed Mays’ family and friends.  According to his longtime friend AJ Khubani, CEO of Telebrands,  Mays was “the model of a responsible citizen.”  Pallbearers at his funeral wore khaki pants and blue shirts to mimic the “uniform” Mays was known for wearing during his infomercial sales pitches.

Despite the controversy surrounding his death, Billy Mays will always be remembered for his boisterous personality and energetic sales technique as one of the greatest television pitchmen of our time.