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The Ginsu knife is a product best known for the sales techniques used to promote it. The "amazing" Ginsu knife became known to millions of television viewers in the USA through ubiquitous television advertisements in the 1970s. Ads asked "How much would you pay? Don't answer!", urged viewers to "Call now! Operators are standing by!" and included the signature line "But wait! There's more!". The ads fueled sales of between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984.

The Ginsu ads adapted the "hard sell" direct-marketing techniques of door-to-door sales and print advertising to the medium of television. In the process they established the formula for the modern infomercial.

Product development

The company is based in Rhode Island, USA, and was founded by Ed Valenti and Barry Becher. These two, who also founded the direct marketing agency Dial Media, found a set of knives made in Fremont, Ohio by the Douglas Quikut Division of Scott Fetzer. Originally, the brand was to be named "Eversharp". Valenti and Becher later changed it to the Japanese-sounding name "Ginsu" (Kanji Japanese: 銀簾, Hiragana: ぎんす), an example of foreign branding.

The first Ginsu commercial aired in 1978. It began with a rapid, dramatic voice over: “In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife.” The opening scene showed 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 scene changed to show a hand smashing a tomato into a pulpy mess. This led to the introduction of "the amazing" Ginsu knife. Voice over and visuals showed a knife that could “cut through a nail, a tin can, and a radiator hose and still cut a tomato paper thin.” Viewers were 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 the signature “But wait! There’s more!” and urged to call in to a toll-free 1-800 number where phone banks were ready (Operators are standing by!). Orders could be taken from the moment the spot aired to days, even weeks, later. Operators were available on a 24 hour basis. The sense of urgency created by telling viewers “Call now!” and “Supplies are limited!” helped the company sell between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984.

The demonstration of an "amazing" product, together with the signature line “But wait! There’s more!”, effectively translated into the medium of television the "hard sell" direct marketing techniques long used in door-to-door sales. The Ginsu ads established the formula for the modern "infomercial."^[1]

"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.'"^[1]^[2]

Cultural impact

File:GinsuBookCover.JPG

In American popular culture "the amazing Ginsu knife" remains an icon of "hard sell" marketing. Valenti and Becher repeated the advertising formula with other products such as the Miracle Slicer, Royal Durasteel mixing bowls, Vacufresh storage containers, the “Chainge” Adjustable Necklace, and Armourcote Cookware.^{[citation needed]} According to the Ginsu website Ginsu Guys.com, the comedian Gallagher made a career out of mimicking the commercial's antics. Jerry Seinfeld joked in his stand-up routine that he ordered the Ginsu knife after seeing the infomercial so late at night that he was too tired to realize he had no use for the knives. In April 2009, a stretch of road in Warwick, Rhode Island which passes the office of Ed Valenti, was named Ginsu Way.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Reynolds, Bill (December 12, 1982), "GINSU! It came from Warwick - it devoured the marketing world", Sunday Journal Magazine, p. 3
^ Auchmutey, Jim (1983), "But wait, there's more!", Advertising Age Special Report, p. 1.
^ Associated Press (2009-04-03). "But wait, there's more! Call that road Ginsu". Retrieved 2009-04-04.

Becher, Barry (2005), The Wisdom of Ginsu: Carve Yourself a Piece of the American Dream, Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, ISBN 1-56414-803-3 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Isabel Gottlieb (2008-03-07). Brown Daily Herald "30 Years Later, This Iconic Knife Still Carving Its Name". Newsgroup: features. Retrieved 2008-04-09. {{cite newsgroup}}: Check |newsgroup= value (help); Check |url= value (help)

Reynolds, Bill (December 12, 1982), "GINSU! It came from Warwick - it devoured the marketing world", Sunday Journal Magazine, p. 3.

Auchmutey, Jim (1983), "But wait, there's more!", Advertising Age Special Report, p. 1.

Smith, Andy (March 28, 2005), "But wait, there's more!", Providence Journal, p. 1.

Ron Popeil, Philip Kives, Ed Valenti and Barry Becher, Robert Thompson, among others (2003). Gadget Mania: The History and Evolution of the Informercial (DVD). Discovery Communications, Inc.

GinsuGuys.com – About: The Ginsu Guys

External links

[Reynolds-1] Reynolds, Bill (December 12, 1982), "GINSU! It came from Warwick - it devoured the marketing world", Sunday Journal Magazine, p. 3

[2] Auchmutey, Jim (1983), "But wait, there's more!", Advertising Age Special Report, p. 1.

[rhodeisland-3] Associated Press (2009-04-03). "But wait, there's more! Call that road Ginsu". Retrieved 2009-04-04.

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@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 == Product development ==
 [[Image:Ginsutable.JPG|right|thumb|300px|Ginsu knives]]
-The company is based in [[Rhode Island]], USA, and was founded by [[Ed Valenti]] and Barry Becher. These two, who also founded the 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 later changed it to the Japanese-sounding name "Ginsu" (Kanji Japanese: 銀簾, Hiragana: ぎんす).
+The company is based in [[Rhode Island]], USA, and was founded by [[Ed Valenti]] and Barry Becher. These two, who also founded the direct marketing agency Dial Media, found a set of knives made in [[Fremont, Ohio]] by the Douglas Quikut Division of Scott Fetzer. Originally, the brand was to be named "Eversharp". Valenti and Becher later changed it to the Japanese-sounding name "Ginsu" (Kanji Japanese: 銀簾, Hiragana: ぎんす), an example of [[foreign branding]].
 The first Ginsu [[Television advertisement|commercial]] aired in 1978. It began with a rapid, dramatic [[voice over]]: “In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife.” The opening scene showed 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 scene changed to show a hand smashing a tomato into a pulpy mess. This led to the introduction of "the amazing" Ginsu knife. Voice over and visuals showed a knife that could “cut through a nail, a tin can, and a radiator hose and still cut a tomato paper thin.” Viewers were 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 the signature “But wait! There’s more!” and urged to call in to a [[toll-free]] 1-800 number where phone banks were ready (''Operators are standing by!''). Orders could be taken from the moment the spot aired to days, even weeks, later. Operators were available on a 24 hour basis. The sense of urgency created by telling viewers “Call now!” and “Supplies are limited!” helped the company sell between two and three million Ginsu sets between 1978 and 1984.

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