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The GINSU® knife has become one of advertising’s most legendary products ever promoted on T.V., made famous through a series of long-form advertisements (two minute and ninety seconds) in the 1970’s and paved the way for the modern day infomercial with its use of quirky catchphrases, comical quips, and urgent call to action.

What’s In A Name?

When Ed Valenti and Barry Becher, founders of the Rhode Island based direct marketing agency Dial Media, first found a set of knives made in Freemont, Ohio by the Douglas Quikut Division of Scott Fetzer, they knew they could have an instant hit. Originally called Eversharp, Valenti and Becher knew they had to come up with an alluring name before the product could become a true success and catch on in mainstream media. After playing with a few names, the team came up with the faux Japanese sounding name ‘Ginsu’ and history was born.

The first Ginsu® commercials to air in 1978 began with a dramatic voice over: “In Japan, the hand can be used as 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 outrageous demonstrations coupled with the signature line of “but wait, there’s more!” carved a piece of advertising history and paved the way for the modern day infomercial.

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, albeit 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.” Dubbed by the pair, the Miracle Painter®, they 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 a tuxedo?” the spot asks – and answers with the products 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 know 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!” not only helped to sell millions, but has become a standard component of many of today’s modern day infomercials.

From Sales to Success

The pair went on to use this method of advertising with a number of highly successful products such as the Miracle Slicer®, Royal Durasteel® mixing bowls, Vacufresh® storage containers, the “Chainge” Adjustable Necklace®, Armourcote Cookware®, and of course the most famous, the Ginsu® knife.

Carving a Piece of History

The Ginsu® knives became so successful that it is still one of the most well known and mentioned products in history. According to their website [Ginsu® Guys.com], the Comedian Gallagher made a career out of mimicking the commercial's antics, Jerry Seinfeld did a routine on Ginsu® on Jay Leno the night of his show’s last episode, Johnny Carson used it as a standing part of his nightly routine for years, Joe Piscopo, John Belushi, Phil Hartman and Dan Akroyd all incorporated Ginsu® into skits on “Saturday Night Live,” Tony Soprano often mentions Ginsu® when seated at the “family” dinner table on the HBO series “The Sopranos,” and the comic strip, “The Wizard of Id” and The New Yorker Magazine cartoons routinely featured Ginsu® references. Mentions in movies such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sleepless in Seattle and Scrooged with Bill Murray, as well as television sitcoms, are simply too numerous to mention. In addition, Ed, Barry, the Ginsu® knives, and their other TV products have been featured in numerous documentaries on national television networks ranging from, ABC (Chronicle) and The History Channel to the Discovery Channel and The Arts and Entertainment (A&E) Network and VH1’s “Pop Up Videos ” and MTV ’s “I love the 70’s.

References

Becher, Barry and Ed Valenti. The Wisdom of Ginsu: Carve Yourself a Piece of the American Dream. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2005.

Gottlieb, Isabel. “30 years later, this iconic knife still carving its name.” Brown Daily Herald. 7 March, 2008. Accessed on 4/9/2008 [Brown Daily Herald]

[GinsuGuys.com – About: The Ginsu Guys]

External links

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+The GINSU® knife has become one of advertising’s most legendary products ever promoted on T.V., made famous through a series of long-form advertisements (two minute and ninety seconds) in the 1970’s and paved the way for the modern day infomercial with its use of quirky catchphrases, comical quips, and urgent call to action.
-{{Unreferenced|date=July 2006}}
-{{Cleanup|date=October 2006}}
-'''Ginsu''' is a line of kitchen knives made famous by their [[infomercial]] television marketing campaign. The Ginsu knife commercials, along with others produced by the same team, established many stylistic precedents for direct marketing on television:
-* Contrived and dramatic product demonstrations
-* Gushing, fast-paced praise of the product
-* Clever catch phrases
-* Extra products to sweeten the deal for purchasers ("But wait, there's more!")
-* A direct call to action at the commercial's end with a very deep voiced announcer giving out the number to call, along with easy payment over the phone via credit card ("Call now!")
+== What’s In A Name? ==
-Ginsu became one of the most popular and widely-marketed products in history, even attracting a celebrity clientele.  Despite the [[Japan]]ese-sounding name, Ginsu Knives were actually manufactured in [[Fremont, Ohio|Fremont]], [[Ohio]], USA by the Quikut Division of cutlery manufacturer [[Scott Fetzer]].  Today, Ginsu Knives are manufactured by the Douglas Quikut division of [[Berkshire Hathaway]], owned by billionaire [[Warren Buffett]]. The Ginsu brand is being considered for inclusion in the [[Smithsonian Institution]] and the "Ginsu Guys" are alive and well at their national media buying and marketing services firm [[PriMedia Inc.]] and on their [http://www.ginsuguys.com website] where they market a new generation of Ginsu knives and other products to a worldwide audience.
+When [[Ed Valenti]] and Barry Becher, founders of the [[Rhode Island]] based direct marketing agency [[Dial Media]], first found a set of knives made in [[Freemont, Ohio]] by the Douglas Quikut Division of Scott Fetzer, they knew they could have an instant hit.  Originally called Eversharp, [[Valenti]] and Becher knew they had to come up with an alluring name before the product could become a true success and catch on in mainstream media.  After playing with a few names, the team came up with the faux Japanese sounding name ‘Ginsu’ and history was born.
-The knives were originally called Eversharp... and sold very badly.
-The knives were first marketed via American television in [[1978]],  soon after [[Ed Valenti]], broadcasting executive for an [[NBC|NBC-TV]] affiliate, and Barry Becher, owner of an [[AAMCO|AAMCO Transmission]] franchise, opened a Providence, Rhode Island-based Direct Marketing ad agency, '''Dial Media''',  that would redefine direct marketing through the use of dramatic product demonstrations, high-intensity sales language and a direct call to action.
+The first Ginsu® commercials to air in 1978 began with a dramatic voice over: “In Japan, the hand can be used as 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.
-The actual name Ginsu was a creation of third member of the Dial Media team, ad copywriter [[Arthur Schiff]], whom Valenti and Becher brought in to give their ad spots a unique energy and mania.  Schiff supposedly came up with the idea to rename the knife in his sleep, changing it from the rather boring Quikut to a fake Japanese name to give it an air of exoticism and power.  In the initial Ginsu commercials, the "Japanese chef" was actually a local exchange student, and the knives themselves were made in [[Ohio]].
+These outrageous demonstrations coupled with the signature line of “but wait, there’s more!” carved a piece of advertising history and paved the way for the modern day infomercial.
-Many of the Dial Media team's [[catch phrases]] have become part of the broader advertising and popular culture lexicon, widely used and perhaps even more widely parodied today:
+== History in the Making ==
-*'''In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife...but it can't cut a tomato!'''
-*'''How much would you pay for a knife like this? Don't answer, because...'''
-*'''NOW how much would you pay?'''
-*'''But WAIT, there's more...'''
-*'''Act now and you'll also receive...'''
-*'''...But this is a limited time offer, so call now!'''
-*'''All for the incredible low price of only $...'''
+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, albeit 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.”  Dubbed by the pair, the Miracle Painter®, they 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 a tuxedo?” the spot asks – and answers with the products no-drip ability.
-Dial's use of comedy combined with research into purchasing the most effective and cost efficient television advertising time, the use of [[toll-free]] telephone numbers to place orders and acceptance of credit cards was the forerunner of much of today's [[direct response marketing]] (not to be confused with [[direct marketing]]) industry, as well as [[Home Shopping]] networks [[QVC]] and [[HSN]].
+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 know 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!” not only helped to sell millions, but has become a standard component of many of today’s modern day infomercials.
-The company started with an item that had been gathering dust on retail shelves for years, which the enterprising pair renamed " The Miracle Painter®"("Why is this man painting his ceiling in a tuxedo?"). Valenti and Becher opened their advertising agency on a shoestring budget, producing their own commercial that crammed the content of a 25-minute demonstration of The Miracle Painter into a two-minute spot.  The offbeat, high-energy commercials, which opened with a man in a [[tuxedo (clothing)|tuxedo]] painting a ceiling ( "No drips, no splatters"), were an incredible success, leading Dial Media to expand their business to include a number of other items marketed in the same rapid-fire manner.
+== From Sales to Success ==
-According to the company's website, those items include:
-*'''The Miracle Slicer'''
-*'''The Miracle Duster'''
-*'''Claudette Louberge Hosiery'''
-*'''Royal Durasteel'''
-*'''Vacufresh'''
-*'''The "Chainge" Adjustable Necklace'''
-*'''Lusterware Flatware'''
-*'''Armourcote Cookware'''
-*'''Ginsu Knives'''
+The pair went on to use this method of advertising with a number of highly successful products such as the Miracle Slicer®, Royal Durasteel® mixing bowls, Vacufresh® storage containers, the “Chainge” Adjustable Necklace®, Armourcote Cookware®,  and of course the most famous, the Ginsu® knife.
-Ginsu Knives were demonstrated in an extreme yet comical manner in commercials which showed the knives being used to cut through [[aluminum]] beverage cans and automotive [[radiator]] hoses.  Designed to keep their edge and never require sharpening, the Ginsu was then used to cut thin slices from a [[tomato]].
+== Carving a Piece of History ==
-This sort of product abuse had been practiced in earlier commercial television, for example, [[Timex Corporation|Timex]] watches ("It takes a licking and keeps on ticking") had been strapped to car wheels and boat keels, [[BIC Corporation|BIC]] pens had been shot from guns and used as ice skates, and [[Saladmaster]] stainless steel pans had been thrown on floors and banged with hammers. However, Ginsu elevated product abuse to an art form and an infomercial staple.
+The Ginsu® knives became so successful that it is still one of the most well known and mentioned products in history.  According to their website [[http://ginsuguys.com Ginsu® Guys.com]], the Comedian Gallagher made a career out of mimicking the commercial's antics,  Jerry Seinfeld did a routine on Ginsu® on Jay Leno the night of his show’s last episode, Johnny Carson used it as a standing part of his nightly routine for years, Joe Piscopo, John Belushi, Phil Hartman and Dan Akroyd all incorporated Ginsu® into skits on “Saturday Night Live,” Tony Soprano often mentions Ginsu® when seated at the “family” dinner table on the HBO series “The Sopranos,” and the comic strip, “The Wizard of Id” and The New Yorker Magazine cartoons routinely featured Ginsu® references. Mentions in movies such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sleepless in Seattle and Scrooged with Bill Murray, as well as television sitcoms, are simply too numerous to mention. In addition, Ed, Barry, the Ginsu® knives, and their other TV products have  been featured in numerous documentaries on national television networks ranging from, [[ABC]] (Chronicle) and [[The History Channel]] to the [[Discovery Channe]]l and The Arts and Entertainment [[(A&E)]] Network and [[VH1]]’s “Pop Up Videos ” and [[MTV]] ’s “I love the 70’s.
-==References in popular culture==
+== References ==
-During the 1998 [[stand-up comedy]] show "I'm Telling You for the Last Time," [[Jerry Seinfeld]] joked about late-night [[infomercial]]s, "You know, I don't think I can cut through a shoe with any of my knives. There is nothing about my life that I could tell you, that is more embarrassing than the fact that I have actually spoken the words, 'I would like to order the Ginsu knife.' I wish I was making all this up.  I actually own the Ginsu knife.  'I'm gonna get this knife and cut my shoes up.'"
+Becher, Barry and Ed Valenti. The Wisdom of Ginsu: Carve Yourself a Piece of the American Dream. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2005.
-The song ''"Mr. Popeil"'' by [[Weird Al Yankovic]], an homage to inventor and telemarketer [[Ron Popeil]], includes the line "If you order today, you get a Ginsu knife and a smokeless ashtray."
+Gottlieb, Isabel. “30 years later, this iconic knife still carving its name.” Brown Daily Herald.  7 March, 2008. Accessed on 4/9/2008 [[http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2008/03/07/Features/30.Years.Later.This.Iconic.Knife.Still.Carving.Its.Name-3258675.shtml Brown Daily Herald]]
-Both New York City rappers Notorious B.I.G. and Nas use the line, "he's just nice, he just slice like a ginsu" in the "DJ Enuff freestyle" and the "Last Real N***a Alive" tracks, respectively.
+[[http://ginsuguys.com/index.cfm?pg=71 GinsuGuys.com – About: The Ginsu Guys]]
-Motion City Soundtrack's song "Antonia" features the lyric "She shaves her legs with Ginsu Knives."
-==References==
-{{cite book |last= Valenti |first= Ed | authorlink= Ed Valenti | coauthors=Barry Becher |title= The Wisdom of Ginsu |publisher= [[Career Press]] |year= 2005}}
 ==External links==