The “Cheers to You” Motivational CD series claims to have been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show not once, but twice! Now that could either be a good or bad thing because we know how much Ellen loves to mock infomercial products. The only way it’ll pick your mood up is by laughing at the samples of cheesy soundtracks.

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I thought this was kind of funny… I saw this on the news the other night. Consumer Reports Magazine has labeled infomercials as the quote “Rodney Dangerfields of advertising”. You know…that psychological thrill ride that dramatizes every little problem in our life. Then those sneaky infomercials offer that AMAAAZING product with all its thrilling benefits at that special low price and they always get you with that bonus offer. Wonder why you want to run and grab the phone? It all comes down to neuroscience! Here’s eight tips you can use before reaching for the phone to order.

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Direct Buy is a membership program that claims to cut out the retail middleman and save you money on almost anything for the home. Those infomercials are very enticing to say the least. The pitch, “Learn the secrets retailers don’t want you to know” makes you really wonder what information retailers are hiding. Well just yesterday, I saw a Canadian show “Marketplace” where they interviewed five Direct Buy members. They also compared prices from Direct Buy’s catalog to similar products you could buy at local retails stores. Here’s the real scoop on Direct Buy.

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Billy Mays was a cornerstone of the modern day infomercial game. He shouted his way into 10 percent of the 50 hottest commercial spots on TV. Scores of marketers used Billy to pitched everything from wood putty to health insurance. Now they have to face an uncomfortable question… Is it acceptable to run an infomercial featuring a pitchman who is no longer living? And what will become of the Pitchmen Show?

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Billy Mays died tragically in his Florida home on Sunday morning at only 50 years old. What a devastating week for the entertainment world! We just lost Farah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, and now Billy Mays. You either loved him or hated the guy but you can’t deny that he was a legendary pitchmen. He was truly one of a kind. His death came only a few hours after he said he was hit on the head from a piece of luggage. Mays landing on a US Airways flight was a rough one after the front tires of the plane blew out after landing at the Tampa Bay airport.

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Pitchmen is the newest reality show on Discovery Channel. I had a chance to sit down and watch the first episode last Wednesday and it sure was a treat! Wasn’t sure how long I could stand seeing Billy and Anthony, but the show was really well done. It’s almost like a remake of “American Inventor.” Except this is something Billy and Anthony do in their everyday life. It follows the adventures of pitchmen Billy Mays and Anthony “Sully” Sullivan. They search worldwide for inventions that they believe can make it big.

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CNBC takes you inside the world of the infomercials starting tonight at 9pm ET and 6pm PT. You can catch it again at 1am ET and 10pm PT. Hosted by Darren Rovell, he goes inside the $150 Billion industry of direct response infomercials. He shows us how Ginsu Knife, ShamWow and Snuggie have become household names throughout the years. You can take a peak in the CNBC video below.

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Problems ordering online seem to be an issue for the Smooth Away Company. Both WINK News and Fox 8 news recently talked to two ladies. They both had identical stories of phantom charges showing up on their bank statements. Not all infomercial sites are bad but there seems to be a few out there that have issues with billing. Here are a few things to consider when ordering online or over the phone from these companies.

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As Seen on TV infomercials have quite the history. Anyone who’s a fan (probably no one these days) of TV infomercials has undoubtedly spotted inventor Ron Popeil peddling his wares on air sometime during the last couple of decades. The guy who started it all is Ronco founder Ron Popeil. As much as we mock those crazy infomercials and tacky products, they have been immensely popular throughout the decades. Who can forget the Chop-O-Matic, the Sit-On Trash Compactor or the Pocket Fisherman? The Popeil family brought America those amazing products and much more.

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Cash4Gold was recently shown during the last Super Bowl infomercial. Who could forget, all that bling and the odd mix…MC Hammer and Ed McMahon both hawking Cash4Gold’s service which converts precious metals to cash. The [tags]cash4gold[/tags]infomercial spot opens with the Cash4Gold logo and a “Heeere’s money!” from McMahon. He places a pair of unwanted gold cufflinks into the Cash4Gold bag. Hammer and McMahon each show increasingly ludicrous items that can be traded for cash. Hammer sells his gold medallion and of all things… a gold sledge hammer and parachute pants. McMahon trades in his gold hip replacement, gold microphone, gold golf clubs and even gold toilet. Sounds like rough times for poor Ed!

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