Written by Liz Shannon Miller
Posted Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 12:01 AM PT

Weekend Vid Picks: Some of the Best In Infomercial Parodies

Liz Gannes said it best in a chat today: “Infomercial spoofs are too easy, yet so good.” So many ridiculous products available for sale, so many commercials attempting to convince Americans that they secretly want. And so many parodies have come out as a result.

The Slap-Chop’s demonstration of the device’s quick-dicing action got it a fair amount of attention earlier this year, remixed as a frankly phat rap video…

And bluntly re-imagined as a destroyer of men’s manhoods (NSFW).

The Sham-Wow’s miraculous ability to absorb liquid, meanwhile, reminded YouTube user MagicHugs of another time-saving cleaning apparatus: paper towels.

And Jack Douglas has practically made a career out of redubbing infomercials — he acquired notoriety for his mockery of the MacBook Air and the ShamWow, his profanity-filled attack on the Slanket tries to deeply shame anyone who might succumb to wearing a blanket with sleeves. (Just remember, you’re wearing it as a joke.)

Does the comedic and viral success of these videos speak to a brutal attack on American consumerist instincts? Or is it just a bunch of dudes online picking low-hanging fruit? I say the former. Then again, I may just have Slanket envy.

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Topic: Online Video

Comments (2)

Don’t forget the University of Andy infomercial:

http://tinyurl.com/nohsae

Enroll today.

Andre — 5:29 AM on May 31, 2009 Reply
Wonder if the Wifes Homemade Snuggies she made the kids for Christmas last year will make the cut :)

Matt_ — 7:41 PM on May 31, 2009 Reply

Linkbacks (3)

[...] their originality (they’ve done the often-used retro 50s sketch, not to mention mocking the perhaps over-mocked Sham-Wow infomercial. But their takes on these concepts are fresh, and executed perfectly for web [...]

Totally Sketch Hits the Web’s Sweet… — 1:34 PM on June 26, 2009
[...] their originality (they’ve done the often-used retro 50s sketch, not to mention mocking the perhaps over-mocked Sham-Wow infomercial. But their takes on these concepts are fresh, and executed perfectly for web [...]

Totally Sketch Hits the Web’s Sweet… — 2:32 PM on June 26, 2009
[...] host who could get excited about any product, passed away last weekend. And for those who live for mocking infomercials, the news apparently came as a real [...]

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