As Seen On TV products are well-known as innovations that solve problems.  Sometimes, they even solve problems you didn’t know you had until you see the perfect product to eliminate all hassles involved with whatever task or chore is at hand.  Though infomercial products are generally creative inventions that make life easier, occasionally, a product comes along that attempts to solve a problem that doesn’t even exist.

Enter the Katsak.

Katsak was promoted on QVC in the early 1990s as an As Seen On TV cat toy designed to keep your family’s feline entertained.  If you’ve ever owned a cat, you know that an unentertained cat is a fat cat, and that finding a toy to keep your cat busy can be a chore.  Cats are definitely finicky.  The Katsak was created to appeal to a cat’s natural instincts:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rChjMRfi40c

As a cat owner and reformed Crazy Cat Lady, I can speak with full authority when I say that cats do, in fact, love bags and crinkly noises–preferably in the middle of the night.  However, I can also say with full authority that Katsak, at $24.35, does not fill any need.  Crinkly sounding bags are freely available whenever you buy your groceries or stop at your local discount store.  I’m sure my cat would totally dig Katsak–preferably in the middle of the night–but I could easily save my $25 and leave a plastic WalMart bag or brown paper grocery sack on the living room floor.

We’ve talked before about pitchmen and how their sale techniques can really create a desire to buy.  I’m thinking perhaps Mike Rowe, who is selling Katsack in the above QVC video, could take a lesson or two from Anthony Sullivan.  I mean, you can tell that Rowe thinks the Katsack is a ridiculous waste of money, and he seems to be completely bored with his job.  Of course, if I were making a living pitching overpriced sacks, I might be a little uninspired by my work as well.

Despite the ludicrousness of the Katsak, there are a number of infomercial products for your cat or dog that are well worth the money.  From grooming to safety to play, infomercial pet care products can keep your dog or cat healthy, fit, and entertained.   For a full listing of the infomercial pet products we offer, please visit our As Seen On TV pet product catalog.

One of the really, really hard things about working for a company that offers As Seen On TV products is that you want to buy almost everything you see.  We’ve discussed before how infomercial products are designed to fill a need that you may not have even realized you had, so when I see a product that solves any dilemma in my life, or that looks fun, or that will make things easier, or . . . well, I just want it.  A lot.

Of course, money does not, in fact, grow on trees, so I have really worked to curb my impulse spending.  Instead buying the things that I oh-my-goodness-have-to-have-now, I have started keeping a mental As Seen On TV wishlist.  Here are some of my top picks on infomercial products that I desperately want (and will only be able to refrain from buying for so long):

1. The Instyler – Smooth, shiny, and bouncy hair?  Eliminate frizzies in less time?  Straight hair that isn’t smashed flat and limp?  Using one tool to curl or straighten?  Who wouldn’t love this?!  Sign me up.
2. The Flex Mini – Okay, seriously.  A butt workout without working out.  A lunge-free and squat-free way to get firm thighs and rounded glutes.  It’s on.
3. Big Top Cupcake – I don’t honestly know why I want this so badly.  I just do.  I think it would be fun to make these for my son’s birthday parties.  Or maybe it’s just the idea of a ginormous cupcake sounds so heavenly.
4. Luminess Airbrush Tan – I was raised in the era of the “healthy glow” by a mother who ingrained in me that “tan fat looks better than white fat,” but am now forced to face the facts about the sun’s damaging properties.  With an airbrush tan, maybe I could have that sunkissed look I love without those pesky wrinkles and melanoma.
5. Gyro Bowl – I have a toddler.  End of story.

Of course, this is an incomplete list of Stuff I Want.  I pretty much want every Beachbody exercise DVD program and all of the plants that let me grow my own cherries/blueberries/peppers/insert-produce-here at home.  As long as I’m doing this, I know my As Seen On TV wishlist will continue to grow like grass on a Canada Green lawn.

On a side note, a few of the products to which I’ve already succumbed include Strap Perfect, Kangaroo Keeper, Emery Cat, Snuggie, and Bare Lifts–all of which have been well worth it!

What’s on your infomercial wishlist?

I love Fall.  It is by far my favorite season, and I’ll admit that I start planning Halloween costumes and decorations far in advance of the actual season.  In my neck of the woods, temperatures are often in the 80′s well into October, but I’ll throw on a pot of chili just as a matter of principle.  However, when football season hits, I start dreaming of cooler weather, beautiful foliage, and pumpkins on every doorstep.  I hate to be cold, so when the weather is cool, I love nothing more than snuggling on the couch under a warm blanket.  That’s why this year, I’m going to cave and get a Snuggie.  Oh, how I mocked the Snuggie when it first came out.  I believe I’ve even mocked it here on Way Back Wednesday.  But I borrowed one in a freak snowstorm last winter and fell in love with it.   Now that you can order a Sports Snuggie, it will be the perfect accompaniment to college football, one of the truly great things about Fall.

You know, the idea behind Snuggie is not new.  In fact, there is another blanket with sleeves called the Slanket.  Now, I ask you:  which would you rather cuddle up with?  A Snuggie (insert cozy, warm, cuddly images here) or a Slanket (“Marv!  Call the plumber!  The drain is backed up and there’s slanket all over the floors!”).  The Snuggie has become a smash hit in the world of blankets and in the world of infomercial products in general.  I think it has a lot to do with the name.

A name can make or break a product.  Here I am going to give you a list of some of the most poorly named infomercial products available.  These names are so ill-conceived that I can’t even comprehend the strategy behind them.  In fact, these names are so unspeakably bad that I’m going to refrain from making my usual snarky comments and just let these horrible product names speak for themselves.

• Catch It:  A litter box product designed to help scoop the kitty business from the litter.  Go ahead.  Say it out loud and think about the product.  You’ll get it.
• Nads:  An all-natural hair removal product supposedly named for its creator’s daughter.
• Magic Bullet:  It’s a blender.  Duh.
• Rack Trap:  I guess this is exactly what it says it is.  It’s a little pocket you put inside your bra.  That’s an even worse name than The Hooter Hider nursing cover.

Last but certainly not least on my horribly named products list is . . . well, I’ll just let you see the infomercial that was really, truly, honest-to-goodness seen on TV:

That’s T-I-D-D-Y.  Can you even imagine the product proposal meeting where that name was chosen?  I mean, what names did they turn down, for the love of Pete?!

It just makes my brain hurt.

The BackYard Buddy marketer has run out of inventory, so we have been notified to direct our traffic to the PetZoom Pet Park.  The indoor dog potty synthetic grass mats are essentially the same – only real difference is the free bonus item.

If you haven’t seen the infomercial for this one, the narrated talking dog is just a bit odd – almost makes it hard to take the product seriously. But really, it’s a great idea at an affordable price. I remember as a kid hating to clean out the wet newspapers when we kept our dog in the garage. These indoor dog potty patch products have got to be better than that.