Ginsu

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The Ginsu knife is a product most famous for the activities that were used to promote it. It was made famous through a series of long-form advertisements in the 1970s and it is claimed paved the way for the modern day infomercial with its use of quirky catchphrases, comical quips, and urgent call to action, including the phrase "how much would you pay...don't answer" and "but wait, there's more".

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[edit] Product development

Ginsu knives

Ed Valenti and Barry Becher, founders of the Rhode Island based direct marketing agency Dial Media, found a set of knives made in Fremont, Ohio by the Douglas Quikut Division of Scott Fetzer. Originally called Eversharp, Valenti and Becher decided that they had to come up with a more alluring name before the product could become a true success and catch on in mainstream media.[citation needed] After some discussion, they came up with the Japanese-sounding name "Ginsu" (Kanji Japanese: 銀簾, Hiragana: ぎんす).

The first Ginsu commercials aired in 1978, it began with a dramatic voice over: “In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife” with a man in a white karate uniform splitting a stack of wooden boards with his hand. “But this method doesn’t work with a tomato;” the voice over continues and the scene changes to show a hand smashing a tomato into a pulpy mess; which is where the Ginsu knife came in. It could “cut through a nail, a tin can, and a radiator hose and still cut a tomato paper thin,” touting the knives' ability to stay razor sharp even after having been put to the test.

These demonstrations coupled with the signature line “but wait, there’s more!” are seen as being one of the key moments in the development the modern day infomercial. (Reynolds, Bill (December 12, 1982), "GINSU! It came from Warwick - it devoured the marketing world", Sunday Journal Magazine: 3 ).

[edit] History in the making

The real challenges came in fitting a 20-25 minute product demonstration into a 2 minute time block and garner enough attention in the first few seconds to get the viewer to tune in and eventually purchase. Valenti and Becher’s first success with this method evolved from a conundrum Becher faced when having to paint his ceiling. Could this task be accomplished in a faster, easier, but smarter way? The answer was yes and came when Becher found an obscure paint pad which allowed him to paint his ceiling in “half the time of a paint brush” without the “mess or fuss.” Dubbing it the Miracle Painter, the pair immediately hit the airwaves catching people’s attention by showing a man painting his ceiling in a tuxedo. “Why is this man painting his ceiling in a tuxedo?” the spot asks – and answers with the product's no-drip ability.

Viewers were then ‘called to action’ with such phrases as “you get this all for the incredible low price of…,” “Now how much would you pay?” as well as one of the most legendary and well-known phrases “But wait! There’s more” and then asked to call in to a toll-free 1-800 number where phone banks were ready to take their orders from the moment the spot aired to days, even weeks after it ran; even on a 24 hour basis. The sense of urgency that was created by being advised to “call now” and that “supplies are limited!” helped to sell between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984. "Ginsu has everything a great direct response commercial could have," said John Witek, author of "Response Television: Combat Advertising of the 1980s" and a marketing consultant. "Ginsu had humor, demonstration, and a precisely structured series of premium offers I call 'the lots-for-a-little approach.'" (Auchmutey, Jim (1983), "But wait, there's more!", Advertising Age Special Report: 1 .) (Reynolds, Bill (December 12, 1982), "GINSU! It came from Warwick - it devoured the marketing world", Sunday Journal Magazine: 3 ).

[edit] Cultural impact

Ed Valenti demonstraiting Ginsu knives on QVC

Valenti and Becher went on to use this method of advertising with a number of other products such as the Miracle Slicer, Royal Durasteel mixing bowls, Vacufresh storage containers, the “Chainge” Adjustable Necklace, and Armourcote Cookware.[citation needed]

The Ginsu knives became so successful that they are still one of the best-known and most frequently mentioned products in the history of the US.[citation needed] According to their website Ginsu Guys.com, the comedian Gallagher made a career out of mimicking the commercial's antics.

In April 2009, a stretch of road in Warwick, Rhode Island which passes the office of Ed Valenti, was named Ginsu Way.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Associated Press (2009-04-03). "But wait, there's more! Call that road Ginsu". http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30036787/. Retrieved on 2009-04-04. 
  • Becher, Barry; Ed Valenti (2005). The Wisdom of Ginsu: Carve Yourself a Piece of the American Dream. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press. ISBN 1-56414-803-3. 
  • Reynolds, Bill (December 12, 1982), "GINSU! It came from Warwick - it devoured the marketing world", Sunday Journal Magazine: 3 .
  • Auchmutey, Jim (1983), "But wait, there's more!", Advertising Age Special Report: 1 .

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginsu"
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