There are all types of pitchmen in direct-response marketing.  Billy Mays, Anthony Sullivan, and even Vince Offer (better known as “The Sham-Wow Guy”) have all become celebrities in their own right, simply by virtue of being top infomercial pitchmen. Other pitchmen are famous for promoting their own products:  Ron Popeil, Jack LaLanne, Richard Simmons, Susan Powter, Matthew Lesko, and Richard Sherer (the Video Professor) take the airwaves to sell their own programs and inventions.   Infomercial exercise videos have launched their own field of stardom with fitness experts including Billy Blanks, Shaun T, and Chalean Johnson selling challenging exercise routines to devoted fans.

Long before pitchmen became famous simply for being the visible, personable face of an infomercial product, marketers knew the importance of using a famous face to endorse their products.  Before pitchmen became celebrities, celebrities became pitchmen.

Stardom sells, and the following lists includes some of the most famous faces to launch infomercial celebrity endorsements.

• Models – Cindy Crawford (Meaningful Beauty), Christie Brinkley (Total Gym), Daisy Fuentes (Winsor Pilates), Vanessa Williams (ProActiv), Elle Macpherson (ProActiv)
• Athletes – George Foreman (George Foreman Grill and Everyday and More Cleaner), Hulk Hogan (Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill)
• MMA – Chuck Liddell (JackRack), Georges St. Pierre (Rip60), Randy Couture (Tower 200)
• Actors/Actresses – Chuck Norris (Total Gym), Mario Lopez (Ultraflex), Barry Williams/”Greg Brady” (TimeLife70′s Music Explosion), Susan Lucci (Malibu Pilates)
• Singers/Musicians – Jessica Simpson (ProActiv), Katy Perry (ProActiv), Justin Bieber (ProActiv)

As I look through this list, I’m noticing that ProActiv Acne Solution really seems to have a corner on the celebrity pitchman market.  I mean, who doesn’t sell this stuff?  Just for fun, I’ll go ahead and post a list of Celebrities with Formerly Bad Skin who’ve appeared in ProActiv commercials:

• Julianne Hough – Dancing with the Stars
• Jenna Fischer – The Office
• Alyssa Milano – Who’s the Boss, Charmed
• Vanessa Williams – singer, actress, model, disgraced former Miss America
• Justin Bieber – singer
• Jessica Simpson – singer
• Katy Perry – singer
• Alicia Keys – singer
• Mandy Moore – singer, actress
• Jennifer Love Hewitt – actress
• Kelly Clarkson – American Idol, singer
• Avril Lavigne – singer

Celebrity endorsements lend a familiar face to the infomercial pitch, giving television viewers a sense of trust and a brush with fame.  After all, infomercial products are designed to make our lives easier, and if it’s good enough for those accustomed to a life of luxury and the finer things, shouldn’t it be good enough for us?

The holidays are fast approaching–only two more shopping days until Christmas!  At the Way Back Wednesday home, we’ve handled the gift-buying largely by avoiding the malls and ordering online, and we’ve commenced celebrating by watching scores of children’s holiday movies with Way Little Wednesday.   The combination of these two has been ultra-convenient, as whenever I see an infomercial for an as seen on TV product that will be great for someone on my shopping list, I just pop open the laptop, head over to SeenOnTV Express, and my shopping is taken care of, without ever leaving the couch or missing a minute of our Christmas Film Festival.

Speaking of Christmas movies, last week we talked about how no one does Christmas music quite like Time Life.  However, Time Life doesn’t just do music; they have some of the best video collections as well.  Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes is one example of how Time Life Music and Video brings a Christmas phenomenon right into your home.

Kids’ Christmas videos is another area in which they excel.  This year, Mr. Way Back Wednesday and I decided that we can’t just wait to happen upon our favorite Christmas movies–we need to buy the DVDs so that Way Little Wednesday can watch them whenever he wants.  Finding all the children’s Christmas classics was a little more difficult–and expensive–than we had anticipated.  We should have realized that Time Life (and a time machine) would have had the perfect solution:

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman are two of my personal favorites.  In fact, they are destined to become favorites of Way Little as well.  Today, after watching Frosty, Way Little exclaimed, “Again!”

From all of us at Way Back Wednesday and SeenOnTV Express, have a “Holly Jolly Christmas:”

For the last few decades, Time Life music has created some of the best music compilations available.  Before MP3 playlists, and even before the mix tape, Time Life was taking your favorite songs and putting them together on one LP.  As music trends–and formats–have changed, TimeLife music has evolved.

One thing that hasn’t changed, is the quality of their holiday albums.  While an occasional new Christmas song hits the airwaves, generally, Christmas is about the classics.  The following TimeLife infomercial shows that, while hairdos change, nostalgic Christmas tunes never go out of style:

Now through Nov 15, 2009  TimeLife® is offering 20% off purchases of $99 or more (before adding taxes and shipping).

This is their biggest sale of the year – order now to have your favorite Time Life® music or video collections delivered before Christmas at great savings.  Use the banner to get complete details or get more TimeLife Coupons here.