Top 10 Best Infomercials of the Last Decade
#10: Housed Real Estate Group (2022)
Buying a house in today’s climate is a massive headache. However, the Housed Real Estate Group decided to make the process a little bit more fun. Rather than go with a typical, dramatic, film-esque video to highlight a property on the market, they went with parodying the stereotypical infomercial style with black and white clips and a green screen. With a loud caricature salesperson complete with a cowboy hat and an accent, House.com showcased a unit in Chandler, Arizona. They even threw in some fake customer testimonials to amp up the fun about how their lives were turned around by buying a unit. Seemingly, it worked. A few weeks after the infomercial aired, the property was sold.
#9: Angry Mama (2015)
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Do any appliances get as dirty in real life as they do in infomercials? Well, if somehow you are a regular food spiller in a microwave, then Angry Mama is for you! Promoted by UK company JML, this little device's angry expression is adorable. Fill it with white vinegar, water, and sometimes a splash of lemon juice. Then, pop it into the microwave and watch as the steam escapes from her noggin and coats the appliance. She’ll even judge your wiping-up ability. Humorous designs and successful cleaning is always a great selling point for infomercials. If you’re not too keen on the redhead, no worries, there are different nifty designs available.
#8: Clorox Scrubtastic (2017)
Kicking things off for this infomercial, we see an inexplicably dirty bathroom that has mud – we hope – smeared all over the place. The woman is shattered from using her boring and useless clearing products, but the Clorox Scrubtastic will save the day, turning the screen colorful in the process. And this thing looks amazing. Using CGI to demonstrate how it works definitely adds to its appeal. Then showcasing the Scrubtastic defeating horrible messes with ease adds even more of a wow factor. This infomercial hits all the selling points in a short amount of time, really tempting us to reach for our credit cards.
#7: GE Lighting (2014)
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Celebrity endorsements of products are a key tool in the utility belt of marketing. But not many used the famous face as well as GE Lighting with actor Jeff Goldblum in 2014. Playing the role of Terry Quattro, a seemingly 1970s playboy celebrity who hasn’t changed his look, Goldblum’s charisma adds to the fun provided by the witty script. But there’s another star of the show, Quattro’s adorable goatee-wearing assistant. The infomercial is funny, ties their lighting to making life more glamorous, and explains how simple it is to install their products, all in a relatively short amount of time. Delightful.
#6: Chatbooks (2019)
The number one rule of selling products is to know your demographic. And the photobook-creating Chatbooks knocked that out of the park with their infomercials. They’ve made a series of them, all tied around the same goal, yet one in 2019 stole the show. It showcased a mom of three kids talking about how manic her life is with them. And due to her offspring, she doesn’t have the time to make photo albums. Cue the Chatbooks app, making her life slightly easier amongst the chaos. Utilizing funny scenarios and lines, such as the admittance that her children refuse to follow her on Instagram, the infomercial sticks in your mind and makes you want to see all their videos like an advertisement sitcom.
#5: Palace Skateboards & Reebok (2016)
Being aware of the stereotypes of infomercials, then employing them while adding a fun twist is a great way to grab attention. But throw in a well-utilized celebrity endorsement, and you’ve got a recipe for success. In 2016, Jonah Hill was used to showcase the collaboration between Palace Skateboards and Reebok. However, they parodied low-budget commercials by badly green-screening him and getting the actor to underperform in a hilariously awkward way. Hill’s interactions with shoppers alone are worth it. Hill seems to have enjoyed the experience, as he worked with Palace a couple more times.
#4: NERD Skincare (2016)
Getting the founder to take part in an infomercial to showcase how a product works usually makes the product more appealing, especially if the founder doesn’t demand the spotlight throughout. And that’s exactly what we got in NERD Skincare’s 2016 video when Evelyn Chen strapped on a camera, rubbed stuff on her face, and then highlighted her product’s work in removing adult acne. Genius. On top of Chen’s great work as the straight actor, Laura Clery was wonderful as the brand’s spokesperson. The scene involving the ex-boyfriend falling out the window in surprise is magical. Using humor with simple, well-designed sets adds to the charm of the infomercial and helps it make a long-lasting impression.
#3: The Animal Foundation, Las Vegas (2015)
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In 2015, The Animal Foundation in Las Vegas, Nevada, went in a different direction with the infomercial. As they pun-tastically call it, the “In-FUR-mercial.” Kicking things off, it seems like a typical product of the genre: black-and-white footage and a big mess. Yet the saving grace isn’t a magical cleaning contraption. Instead, it’s a furry pup saving the kitchen from spilled snacks. Throughout, they parody the infomercial with an over-enthusiastic voiceover but showcase dogs making human lives better in humorous ways. Genius. As you may have put together, this was to promote adopting dogs from the Foundation. But cat lovers fear not. They also released a similar video that focussed on our feline friends.
#2: Purple (2016)
Beyond fairy tale character Goldilocks being an expert breaker-and-enterer and knowledgeable about porridge, she’s also known as a judgy bed connoisseur. So in 2016, the mattress company Purple brought her in to show off their sleeping product. Using over-the-top science involving heavy weights and raw eggs, the infomercial nails how good their mattresses appear, especially when they repeat the tests on other mattress types and show them failing. Add in a humorous script, pop culture references, the educational background of the inventor, mention of how much cheaper their product is compared to the competition, and the ending showing the test wasn’t fake, and this infomercial is a rousing success.
#1: The Squatty Potty (2015)
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Have you ever wondered how ice cream was made? Well, the Squatty Potty is here to quench your thirst for knowledge! It’s from a unicorn cutting rope. Within those opening few seconds of the 2015 infomercial, we’re hooked on this bonkers video. Pushing bathroom boundaries by talking openly about habits and adding in a colorful and whimsical medieval-esque setting with a dashing spokesperson, this work by Squatty Potty is unmatched in rewriting the infomercial recipe. They showcase the benefit of their product visually with drawings, instantly getting their message across clearly, but then back it up with scientific journals as well as praise from various publications and users. Plus, that haiku read by the deep-voiced mythical creature was moving.
