No Shamu For Me, But What About ShamWow?

Over the past few days I've been engaging in something I haven't done in a long time... I've been watching live TV. That's right, no Tivo'd shows for me while staying at a hotel. So for the first time in months, I've seen commercials.

There is one that has stuck with me for two days, so much so that I actually went to the web site for the product. It is the ShamWow. Have you heard of this thing? Here is the commercial that is less than a minute long:

First, and most importantly, why is that guy talking into a headset? Secondly, does anyone you know actually spend $20 a month on paper towels? If so, does that person happen to be the messiest slob ever? Thirdly, who came up with the name ShamWow? Maybe it's because I'm down the street from SeaWorld right now, but all I could think about was Shamu the killer whale.

I must know... has anyone out there actually tried a ShamWow? I googled the term and found a few other blogs that ripped on the commercial, and half of the commenters said that the towels actually worked, while the other half cried that they were a scam. I think it may just be worth $20 to find out for myself. My husband and I have some towels that are kind of similar that we used while backpacking through Asia for 2 months... you could wipe your whole body off and towel dry your hair with one of them after a shower and then wring it out and it would be dry again in minutes--amazing (REI sells some if you're interested, as do most camping stores). So I know that the concept of a ShamWow is possible... but the commercial made these new towels look less bulky and more flexible than the ones I used back in the day.

When I went to the ShamWow web site, I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that on the homepage, the word "washable" was spelled incorrectly (they have "wasahble), as was "dries" (they have "dryes"). I can't claim to be flawless in these blog posts, but you would think that a company would spellcheck its own web site?!? Maybe they were too preoccupied with wiping up spills around the ol' office.

- e

You Got a Big Fine Couch!

I was recently made aware of this absolutely crazy commercial, which you must see to believe. It's been playing recently in the Washington DC area, and aired during the 2007 tax season as well. It's a very bad attempt at a play on the 1999 song by Juvenile entitled "Back That Thang Up" (at least that is the non-explicit title of the song).

Please watch this 30-second ad, because I've got some questions for you afterward.

Here is what I can't figure out:

1) Of ALL SONGS, why would you pick "Back That Thang Up" to mock in an ad for a furniture store? I could see maybe for a truck or something, but for furniture?

2) Does that man at the beginning have the biggest belly button of all time, or what?

3) Speaking of that, why don't the guys in this video have on shirts? Why does the woman at the very beginning whose back is facing the camera appear to have on only a bra and skirt? What exactly is going ON in this furniture store?

All I know is that the next time I'm in DC, I'm totally going there. And they better have a party waiting!

- e