Introducing infomercials! These exciting new products make ordinary commercials extraordinary, and the products seem revolutionary. Even if the product didn’t work as advertised, you at least doubled your offer for free. You just paid for separate shipping. It was a big deal in the ’90s. You had to have been there to understand this specific obsession. We’re here today to take a look at infomercials from back in the day, explain the product, and whether or not it was a good purchase or a ripoff.
#1: The George Foreman Grill
The George Foreman Grill was released by Salton, Inc. in 1994, the company teaming up with the legendary boxer George Foreman shortly after his retirement. At 45, he won the heavyweight championship after knocking out 26-year-old Michael Moorer. The grill was an instant success, too.
It was easy to plug in and clean and had an incline where all the fat dripped onto a collection tray. While a burger from the charcoal grill is my preferred way, this grill was cheap and perfect for small kitchens. The ‘90s were also the decade of low-fat diets, so it was a case of the right product at the right time. Foreman made hundreds of millions from the deal, and it’s still a bestseller to this day.