Ginsu
Ginsu () is a brand of direct marketed knives, owned by Scott Fetzer Company, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, that was made popular in the United States by being sold on television using infomercials characterized by hawker and hard sell pitch techniques. The ads fueled sales of between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984. History Ginsu knives were originally called ''Quikut''. The Quikut division of Scott Fetzer Company was located in Fremont, Ohio. Because the brand name "Quikut" lacked panache, Ed Valenti, Barry Becher, and copywriter Arthur Schiff created a new brand name that alluded to the exceptional sharpness and durability of a Japanese sword. As Valenti told the ''Palm Beach Post'' in 2011, "The challenge was to position the product so that it made every other knife you owned obsolete." The resulting Ginsu ads copied the hard sell direct marketing techniques of carnival hawkers that pioneering TV pitchman Ron Popeil had adapted to the medium in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Barry Becher
Ginsu () is a brand of direct marketed knives, owned by Scott Fetzer Company, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, that was made popular in the United States by being sold on television using infomercials characterized by hawker and hard sell pitch techniques. The ads fueled sales of between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984. History Ginsu knives were originally called ''Quikut''. The Quikut division of Scott Fetzer Company was located in Fremont, Ohio. Because the brand name "Quikut" lacked panache, Ed Valenti, Barry Becher, and copywriter Arthur Schiff created a new brand name that alluded to the exceptional sharpness and durability of a Japanese sword. As Valenti told the ''Palm Beach Post'' in 2011, "The challenge was to position the product so that it made every other knife you owned obsolete." The resulting Ginsu ads copied the hard sell direct marketing techniques of carnival hawkers that pioneering TV pitchman Ron Popeil had adapted to the medium in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ed Valenti
Ed Valenti is an American television personality and entrepreneur best known as an early pioneer of infomercials and for creating the Ginsu knives. In 1975, Valenti and his business partner Barry Becher founded Dial Media, Inc. (now PriMedia Inc), one of the first major infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ... companies in the world. Valenti is credited with coining a number of phrases widely adopted by the industry, including: “But wait, there’s more!”, “Now how much would you pay?” and “This is a limited-time offer, so call now.” Books * "The Wisdom of Ginsu: Carve Yourself a Piece of the American Dream". Career Press (March 2005). References Year of birth missing (living people) Infomercials Living people {{US-business-bio- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scott Fetzer Company
The Scott Fetzer Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, is an American diversified manufacturer and marketer of products for the home, family, and industry comprising 33 brands, headquartered in Westlake, Ohio. The company was founded by George H. Scott and Carl S. Fetzer in 1914 as a machine shop under the name George H. Scott Machine Co.; the name changed to Scott & Fetzer Machine Co. in 1917 and again in 1919 to Scott & Fetzer Co. In early 1986, Berkshire Hathaway acquired the company for about $400 million. Through its various brands, the company offers home cleaning systems, air compressors, paint sprayers, generators, pressure washers, educational products, electric motors, commercial truck and forestry equipment, cleaning products, patient monitoring equipment, and knives. History The Scott Fetzer Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio by George H. Scott and Carl S. Fetzer. It began in a small machine shop as the George H. Scott Machine Co. in 1914. It incorporat ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response marketing''. By contrast, advertising is of a mass-message nature. Response channels include toll-free telephone numbers, reply cards, reply forms to be sent in an envelope, websites and email addresses. The prevalence of direct marketing and the unwelcome nature of some communications has led to regulations and laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act, requiring that consumers in the United States be allowed to opt-out. Overview Intended targets are selected from larger populations based on vendor-defined criteria, including average income for a particular ZIP code, purchasing history and presence on other lists. The goal is "to sell directly to consumers" without letting others "join (the) parade." Popularity A 2010 study by the Direct Marketing Associatio ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Direct Response Marketing
Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response marketing''. By contrast, advertising is of a mass-message nature. Response channels include toll-free telephone numbers, reply cards, reply forms to be sent in an envelope, websites and email addresses. The prevalence of direct marketing and the unwelcome nature of some communications has led to regulations and laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act, requiring that consumers in the United States be allowed to opt-out. Overview Intended targets are selected from larger populations based on vendor-defined criteria, including average income for a particular ZIP code, purchasing history and presence on other lists. The goal is "to sell directly to consumers" without letting others "join (the) parade." Popularity A 2010 study by the Direct Marketing Association ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Infomercial
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), they are often ''program-length commercials'' (long-form infomercials), and are typically 28:30 or 58:30 minutes in length. Infomercials are also known as paid programming (or teleshopping in Europe). This phenomenon started in the United States, where infomercials were typically shown overnight (usually 1:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.), outside peak prime time hours for commercial broadcasters. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off, while other channels air infomercials 24 hours a day. Some stations also choose to air infomercials during the daytime hours, mostly on weekends, to fill in for unscheduled network or syndicated programming. By ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Berkshire Hathaway Company
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiums) in a broad portfolio of subsidiaries, equity positions and other securities. The company has been overseen since 1965 by its chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and (since 1978) vice chairman Charlie Munger, who are known for their advocacy of value investing principles. Under their direction, the company's book value has grown at an average rate of 20%, compared to about 10% from the S&P 500 index with dividends included over the same period, while employing large amounts of capital and minimal debt. The company's insurance brands include auto insurer GEICO and reinsurance firm General Re. Its non-insurance subsidiaries operate in diverse sectors such as confectionery, retail, railroads, home furnishings, machinery, jewelry, apparel, electr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fremont, Ohio
Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States, located along the banks of the Sandusky River. It is about 35 miles from Toledo and 25 miles from Sandusky. It is part of the Toledo metropolitan area. The population was 16,734 at the 2010 census. The city was the home of Rutherford B. Hayes, who served as President of the United States from 1877 to 1881. The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center was the first presidential library and is one of the focal points of the city. The National Arbor Day Foundation designated Fremont as a Tree City USA. History Fremont is located on the former site of Junquindundeh, an historic Wyandot village on the west bank of the lower Sandusky River, near the falls and about upstream from its mouth at Sandusky Bay. French merchants established a trading post there in the 1750s, but British forces took over the trading post and rest of the area after their victory in the French and Indian War. In 1787, the newl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded in 1936, CR was created to serve as a source of information that consumers could use to help assess the safety and performance of products. Since that time, CR has continued its testing and analysis of products and services, and attempted to advocate for the consumer in legislative and rule-making areas. Among the reforms in which CR played a role were the advent of seat belt laws, exposure of the dangers of cigarettes, and more recently, the enhancement of consumer finance protection and the increase of consumer access to quality health care. The organization has also expanded its reach to a suite of digital platforms. Consumer Reports Advocacy frequently supports left-wing environmental causes, including heightened regulations on auto ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Walnut Ridge, Arkansas
Walnut Ridge is a city in Lawrence County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 5098 at the United States Census's 2019 estimate. The city is the county seat of Lawrence County. Walnut Ridge lies immediately north of Hoxie. The two towns form a contiguous urban area with approximately 8,000 residents. Williams Baptist University is in College City, a formerly separate community that merged into Walnut Ridge in 2017. History Walnut Ridge was formally established in 1875 as a result of the railroad coming through the area. There was settlement in the area known as Old Walnut Ridge not far from the current city since about 1860. In 1964, the Beatles briefly stopped at Walnut Ridge Regional Airport on the way to and from a retreat in Missouri. This visit inspired a monument, a plaza, and a music festival in Walnut Ridge. Geography Walnut Ridge is in northeastern Lawrence County in the Upper Delta region of northeastern Arkansas. It is bordered to the south by the city of Ho ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vacuum Cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal. Vacuum cleaners, which are used in homes as well as in industry, exist in a variety of sizes and models—small battery-powered hand-held devices, wheeled canister models for home use, domestic central vacuum cleaners, huge stationary industrial appliances that can handle several hundred litres of dirt before being emptied, and self-propelled vacuum trucks for recovery of large spills or removal of contaminated soil. Specialized shop vacuums can be used to suck up both solid matter and liquids. Name Although ''vacuum cleaner'' and the short form ''vacuum'' are neutral names, in some countries (UK, Ireland) ''hoover'' is used instead as a genericized trademark, and as a verb. The name comes from t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Winsdom Of Ginsu
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with pronouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of pronoun ''thee'') when followed by a v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |