![The Winsdom of Ginsu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/The_Winsdom_of_Ginsu.jpg)
Ginsu () is a brand of
direct marketed knives, owned by
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 G ...
, a
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 ...
, that was made popular in the United States by being sold on television using
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 ...
s characterized by
hawker
Hawker or Hawkers may refer to:
Places
* Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Hawker, South Australia, a town
* Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia
* Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...
and
hard sell
In advertising, a hard sell is an advertisement or campaign that uses a more direct, forceful, and overt sales message, as opposed to a soft sell.
The term is also used to describe aggressive sales techniques used by company representatives, pa ...
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
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 populat ...
. Because the brand name "Quikut" lacked
panache
Panache () is a word of French origin that carries the connotation of flamboyant manner and reckless courage, derived from the helmet-plume worn by cavalrymen in the Early Modern period.
The literal translation is a plume, such as is worn on a h ...
,
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
Ginsu () is a brand of direct marketed ...
,
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 ...
, and
copywriter
Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...
Arthur Schiff created a new brand name that alluded to the exceptional sharpness and durability of a
Japanese sword
A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794 – 1185) to the ...
. 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
In advertising, a hard sell is an advertisement or campaign that uses a more direct, forceful, and overt sales message, as opposed to a soft sell.
The term is also used to describe aggressive sales techniques used by company representatives, pa ...
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''. B ...
techniques of carnival
hawker
Hawker or Hawkers may refer to:
Places
* Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Hawker, South Australia, a town
* Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia
* Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...
s that pioneering TV pitchman
Ron Popeil
Ronald Martin Popeil (; May 3, 1935 – July 28, 2021), was an American inventor and marketing personality, and founder of the direct response marketing company Ronco. He made appearances in infomercials for the Showtime Rotisserie and coined th ...
had adapted to the medium in the 1960s. In the process, they helped solidify the formula for the modern
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 ...
. The ads were ubiquitous in the late 1970s on U.S. television. Advertisements for the "amazing" Ginsu knife asked, "Now how much would you pay? Don't answer!" urged viewers to "Call now! Operators are standing by!", and included the signature "But wait! There's more!", which became a popular infomercial
catch phrase
A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
, and has been used ever since.
[Quoted in obituary of Barry Becher, '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' (DC), June 28, 2012, p. B6.
Media scholar
Robert Thompson Robert or Bob Thompson may refer to:
Entertainment
* Bobby Thompson (comedian) (1911–1988), English comedian
* Bob Thompson (musician) (1924–2013), American orchestra leader, arranger, composer
* Robert E. Thompson (screenwriter) (1924–2004 ...
, of Syracuse University, called the Ginsu advertising campaign "the pitch of all pitches."
"Ginsu has everything a great direct-response commercial could have," said John Witek, a marketing consultant and author of ''Response Television: Combat Advertising of the 1980s''. "Ginsu had humor, demonstration, and a precisely structured series of premium offers I call 'the lots-for-a-little approach'."
Valenti and Becher later repeated the advertising formula with other products such as the Miracle Slicer, Royal Durasteel mixing bowls, Vacufresh storage containers, the Chainge Adjustable Necklace, and Armourcote Cookware.
TV pitchmen
Billy Mays
William Darrell Mays Jr. (July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009) was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, ...
and
Vince Offer
Offer Shlomi ( he, שלומי עופר; born April 25, 1964), better known as Vince Offer or Vince Shlomi is an Israeli-American infomercial pitchman, director, writer, and comedian. Offer's first major work was the 1999 comedy film ''The Under ...
employed the hard-sell informercial to great success in more contemporary times.
While the name ''Ginsu'' was invented by Becher, Becher later (satirically) told an interviewer the word translates to, "I never have to work again." In April 2009, a stretch of road in
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...
, which passes the office of Ed Valenti, was named "Ginsu Way."
The knife brand gained notoriety in 1993 when
Lorena Bobbitt used a Ginsu kitchen knife to sever her husband's penis while he slept.
Current operations
, Ginsu knives are still manufactured and sold. The Quikut and Ginsu brands have both been manufactured in
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 f ...
, since the Douglas (
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 ...
s) and Quikut (knives) operating units of Scott Fetzer merged after 1985. Douglas Quikut also manufactures ReadiVac and American Angler brands.
In 2013, ''
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 ...
'' reviewed the Ginsu Chikara knife set in their comparison of fifty knife sets and rated it as their "Best Buy."
In 2022 Ginsu expanded beyond knives and launched a Kamado grill in a partnership with MyDIY Center.
References
Further reading
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External links
Official Ginsu WebsiteGinsu Guys.comPriMediaHQ.comOriginal Ginsu Commercial
{{Knives
Kitchen knife brands
Direct marketing
Products introduced in 1976
Fremont, Ohio