• REVIEW LINK -- Pitch People is a captivating, well-edited and illuminating documentary about the pitchmen and pitch women who sell products on TV infomercials or at trade fairs. Director Stanley Jacobs charts the history of their craft and how it has evolved throughout the years, i.e. by President Ronal Reagan's deregulation of FCC laws. He interviews many pitch people including Lester Morris, Wally Nash, Ed McMahon, Sandy Mason and Ron Popeil, among others, each of whom provides plenty of insights. You'll learn, for instance, about their tactic they refer to as A.I.D.A: Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. That's how they hook their audience. One of the pitchmen candidly admits that he feels good when consumers give him money when he successfully persuades them to buy the product. Pitch People also includes footage of the pitch people at work. Like all humans, they sometimes make mistakes and their demonstrations don't work smoothly if a machine is missing a key part, but they learn from their mistakes. It's also a very nerve-wracking profession and, as one pitchman amusingly says, it's the second oldest profession in the world. Kudos to director Stanley Jacobs for capturing his subjects' lively personalities and their charisma while shedding light on a profession that's often taken for granted. At a running time of only 1 hour and 28 minutes, Pitch People opens at Village East by Angelika.

  • Stanley Jacobs’s taut, affectionate little documentary hangs on a smat- tering of aged hucksters who at fairs and on late-night TV peddle the flimsy gizmos that slice and dice, magically remove impossible-to-get- out stains, and wipe clean with a single swipe. Who can forget the Crazy Straw, the Pocket Fisherman, and the Ginsu Knife? Armed with auctioneer’s lips and pre-stidigitator’s hands, the film’s subjects think of themselves not as salesmen but as entertainers. One pitcher proudly hails his job as “the second oldest profession.” Even Ed McMahon got his start hawking cutlery on the boardwalk of Atlantic City. Jacobs allows the interviewees to speak freely and without contextual manipulation.

    The archival footage, including movie clips of snake-oil pushers and ’70s TV ads and infomercials, is well laid between anecdotes, and the deconstruction of the techniques behind the “live demonstration” shows an unexpected appreciation for the art of the gadget pitch. But this movie is not without moral undercurrents. In one telltale sequence, the filming of an infomercial, the hot item, a dicer, breaks apart six times before performing the desired operation. Pitch People may not be deep, but as cinematic journalism it cuts to the bone.

  • Pitch People gives a behind-the-scenes look at those fast-talking, genial people who peddle Veg-o-matics, Salsa Masters and Wonder Scoopers at home shows, state fairs and on TV infomercials.

    Jacobs looks at a band of hucksters, who go back to traveling medi- cine man shows in the Old West, and discovers that they’re not like

    you or me at all. They’re showmen who travel a circuit whose “bigtime” was the Boardwalk at Atlantic City and is now hour-long shows on vacant cable TV channels, where they pitch viewers everything from knives strong enough to saw through a steel-headed hammer to static dusters, mops, non-stick cookware, slicers, dicers and weight-loss pro- grams.

    As much entertainers as they are salesmen, they also still travel from town to town, setting up tables at home shows and fairgrounds, trying to entice passersby to stop, look, listen and hand over their dollars.

    Jacobs interviews a dozen or so of the legendary kings and queens of pitch in the United States and United Kingdom. For some it’s a calling that’s been handed down through generations; some are related to each other. Some, like Ed McMahon, still pitch products. It must be in the genes.

    Most of these characters are fascinating and lively, especially when they describe how they get excited when they know they’ve got the public in their pockets. And certainly their vast array of slicing, dicing, handy-dandy gadgets are fun, especially when we see them or their predecessors advertised in old TV commercials.

    By Michael Janusonis

  • The community explored in Pitch People is… fascinating for being obscure out in the open. Director Stanley Jacobs takes us behind the scenes of infomercials, TV mail-order ads and product fairs to intro- duce us to the men and women charged with separating fools from their money. A veritable who’s who of hucksterism, the film traces a history of selling — from oldtime medicine men to Ginsu knives — by talking to the community that keeps it alive. These people make a liv- ing by putting a human face on capitalism in the raw, and Jacobs does a fine job of doing the same as he blends archival footage with talking- head interviews.

    By Paul Malcolm

  • William Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts.”

    So what are pitchmen? Are they conmen or theater actors? Do they work purely on stage or are they puppeteers controlling their public personas with hidden threads? Stanley Jacobs’ Pitch People lets us in on a fascinating world of mystery, stage magic tricks, and intense ability to read people. Jacobs interviews pitchmen and they boast about their successes and the heydays of their jobs like retired movie stars. He creates a parallel universe to Matthew Weiner’s Mad Men that oozes with energy and movement. I wondered; what if someone decides to turn the kitchen where the pitch business is created into serialized television?

    The documentary is visually breathtaking, relying on edits of various items pitched and sold by these professionals. It elevates food and products like professional commercial videography. It creates a sensationalist escapist world where food and other consumer products become the feast for the senses, heightening the lust for these products and their sellers.

    A film about the rapid-fire process of the sell has to be fast-paced and well-shot even if it contains a myriad of interviews. That’s what Jacobs perfectly succeeds in capturing. Not a moment is wasted or stretched for longer than it should. The documentary takes viewers on this journey behind the scenes of how a whole profession thrived on the shoulders of those who held it close; the pitchmen.

    Each pitchman has a unique story to tell, they generously share their expertise and craft, giving an added meaning to what a pitch business is made of. The documentary is also revelatory on the mindset of consumers. How people develop an added interest or a need in something they have never been interested in. An insight into the human psyche that doesn’t feel like another psychoanalysis session or a redundant masterclass, but one of those carnival attractions, where stop-motion creatures come to life. The director beautifully frames hands and showcases them as if they have a life separate from their owners. Hands actively put the products on display, which brings to mind artistic images of painters falling in love with their subjects.

    Jacobs’ research has paid off with a ton of footage, clips, interviews, and archival material. In that process, he has made objects and items advertised as protagonists in the documentary along with their sellers. Inanimate objects become alive and their names stick to the memory. Advertised products bring along with them nostalgia for simpler times when late-night television ads used to be the sole source of entertainment but also the driving power of sales and advertising before the age of influencer marketing where the sell is all about the fame of the person advertising a product, not the product itself.

    Pitch People is a love letter to a time gone and forgotten. TVs had power and people have all been manipulated through one, direct source, rather than an overflow of information and providers, with opposing opinions standing on both ends of the spectrum.

  • ★★★☆

    The story behind Pitch People is almost as fascinating as the people the documentary focuses on. Director Stanley Jacobs’ film had a successful festival run in 2000, garnering positive reviews in the process. Despite that, it never landed a distributor, meaning it was never available to be seen by the general public. Thanks to the rise of streaming services and VOD, Jacobs is finally getting the opportunity to put his work out there. Fully restored in 4K, this “lost” doc now has the chance to be fully discovered.

    The subject is professional pitchmen – those folks seen on boardwalks and at state fairs hawking super-sharp knives, magical kitchen gadgets, and miracle cleaners, among other things. They put on shows for whomever is assembled in front of them, hoping their high-energy demonstrations will inspire sales. Early scenes in the movie provide the history of pitching in England, along with how it became a natural fit for American beach towns, where throngs of tourists marched up and down the boards.

    Interviewees include noted knife salesman Arnold Morris, as well as Ed McMahon, who got his start pitching and never really stopped, even after finding fame as co-host of The Tonight Show. They and others provide enlightening and often amusing insight into the psychology of pitching. We learn the strategies for attracting attention, holding an audience’s interest, and recognizing the exact moment to open the floor for sales. It’s a combination of showmanship and originality, as pitchmen (or women) have to find ways to differentiate themselves from others selling similar wares. The key to success is leaving the spectators enthralled for the entirety of the presentation – no easy feat.

    Sections of Pitch People show the interview subjects plying their trade. Once you understand the hidden mechanics of what they’re doing, the effect is spellbinding. It’s a real artform. Jacobs is smart to let some of these scenes run uninterrupted, as they allow us to fully examine the process at work. I don’t think I’ll ever look at these folks the same way again.

    The final half-hour goes to an especially fun place, recounting how television changed the nature of pitching. Thanks to Ronald Reagan deregulating how long commercials could be, a format known as the “infomercial” was born, and pitchers could suddenly get themselves in front of millions via television. That changed the nature of the game, while also leading to the creation of unlikely celebrities. Fun footage of infomercials being made is included.

    Pitch People doesn’t offer anything special in the way of filmmaking. It’s pretty pedestrian in that sense. But the material is well organized, and the interviewees are well chosen. Running 88 minutes, this is a fast-paced, enjoyable look at one of the most unusual professions around.

  • Wildly entertaining 25th Anniversary of the Never-Before-Seen Feature Documentary

    Selling is theatre and coercion. Stanley Jacobs‘ documentary PITCH PEOPLE explores the very best in persuasive personas and the history of honest sales.

    The film is a clever “how-to” guide to moving products. They are magnetic and funny. Urgency and cleverness get your attention. Does the product make life easier? All people genuinely want is to smile and feel like they’re not being taken advantage of, and that’s the key to selling.

    Nowadays, if you can find an operating mall, you might still come across an AS SEEN ON TV store. A small display remains at Bed, Bath, and Beyond locations. Back in the 1950s, Atlantic City was the hub of Pitchmen. Future American celebrities like Ed McMahon, of Star Search fame, began on the boardwalk.

    You all remember waking up at 3 am to infomercials. From Vitamix to ShamWow, you find yourself watching but just a bit longer than you anticipated. In person, it’s an electric energy. It has to be more personable to lock you in, and the moment these experts get you to pause and pay attention, they’ve got you sold.

    Between local television spots and fairgrounds, pitching products was (and still is) a lucrative career. Only the best survive and put bundles of cash in their pockets. In a world of MLMs, this intimate energy exchange is the oldest truck in the book, and it works. The modern version comes in the form of TikTok influencers, but those 10-30-second uploads have nothing on the original masters.

    PITCH PEOPLE takes the “Always Be Closing” model and mesmerizes by showing audiences entire live pitches in the wild, then cutting in sit-down interviews and archival footage. The editing is the hero of this film. You’ll be dazzled. And maybe start Googling the products as I did.

  • May 17, 2024 ~ Anthony Bellino in for Paul. Getting an update on the Gordie Howe Bridge. Couple great events coming to Metro Detroit this weekend.

    Greg Russell reviews "Back to Black" and "Pitch People" and the day's biggest headlines.

  • REVIEW LINK — Greetings again from the darkness. It’s been 25 years since this documentary from Stanley Jacobs made the festival rounds, and now his 1999 film has gained an “anniversary” release in theaters and on 4K digital. Those of us of a certain age recall our favorite TV shows being interrupted with commercials for the latest “As Seen on TV” products. Ginsu knives and Pocket Fisherman were two of the most prominent, yet there were dozens more that gained airtime. What stood out was the excitement of those presenting the products, making that day’s miracle seem like a must-have for everyone … well except the Ronco Salad Shooter held little appeal for my younger self. But a Ginsu knife that cut through tin cans? I could find a use for that!

    Jacobs’ tracks the origins of pitch people back to the days of traveling ‘Medicine Men’ and their cure-all potions, to the untrusted ‘Snake Oil’ salesmen (who were often the same folks). What’s clear is that we humans have always (and continue to) been enticed by anything promised to make our daily lives easier and better … or as PT Barnum (supposedly) said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Of course, one need not have traveled in a covered wagon or even grown up with limited network TV in the 1970’s to have been mesmerized by the best (or even mediocre) pitch people. Every county and state fair, and most every trade show, car show, and conference, features the entertaining sideshow of a pitch person and their slight-of-hand, fast-talking presentation of some gadget. What Jacobs shows us is that these masters of oratory skills typically take great pride in their talent and results.


    Pitchers, hawkers, grafters, barkers, salespeople … it matters little what label is applied. Their job is to draw folks in, set the hook, and make the sale. The more fun you have with the pitch, the more likely you are to part with greenbacks (or tap your card these days). Ron Popeil (and his RonCo) may be the most famous and successful, and here, Jacobs details Popeil’s dad as well as the birth of the infomercial. Ed McMahon of Johnny Carson fame gets his own segment, and we experience how the pitch, once mastered, stays within the pitch person. We also hear from many others who work in this profession, some you’ll recognize, others you’ll feel like you should.

    Slicers and dicers, miracle mops, and cookware, as well as anything “-O-Matic”, are big players in this market, and we find it entertaining to watch the pitch, but also see the reactions of those gathered around the booth at the fair. It’s quite a phenomenon, and one that Stanley Jacobs expertly captured in this documentary from many years ago … one certainly due a resurgence.

    • David Ferguson

  • If you grew up watching TV in the Seventies, as I did, then you doubtless have a small portion of your heart reserved for those magical, shoddy “As Seen On TV” products such as Ron Popeil’s miraculous Pocket Fisherman, the unstoppable Ginsu carving knife (“It actually cuts clean through this tin can!!”), and RonCo’s Amazing Salad Shooter. How could you live without these miraculous aids to mod- ern household convenience? You couldn’t, of course, and so the products’ creators and their late-night television “pitch people” became, oddly enough, a cultural sub- genre in their own right.

    Jacobs’ zippy, engaging documentary examines the history of pitchmaking, from its turn-of-the-century origins among snake-oil salesman and carnival barkers in England to those heady days during the introduction of television to the American heartland, where this unique form of advertising was refined and redesigned for a whole new generation. Goggle-eyed viewers and struggling housewives, desperate for the labor-saving devices and doo-dads so colorfully promoted into their living rooms via the tube, flocked to dial the flashing 1-800 number on their screens — as a result, Ron Popeil, Brit expatriate John Parkin (no-stick cookware was his spe- cialty, along with the breathless delivery, live audience, and an incredulous female “partner” amazed at the way that poached egg slid unhindered around the pan), and many others became both fabulously wealthy and extremely well-known, virtu- ally overnight. Jacobs’ film examines not only the various players in the product- pitching universe, but also the cultural background that has allowed much of cur- rent late-night television programming to be overrun by endless infomercials featur-

    ing the likes of get-rich shill-meisters and miracle auto waxes resistant to everything from lighter fluid to, presumably, alien attack.

    The Reagan administration is responsible for deregulating the longstanding FCC laws that previously mandated that television commercials could be no more than 60 seconds in length. While this was clearly a tremendous boon to the pitch people and product-hawkers, fans of more esoteric TV fare have ever since been con- signed to endless channel surfing; television’s “vast wasteland” of the Sixties is nothing compared to the floodtide of dreck faced by modern viewers. Despite the inherently cloying nature of the pitching business, Jacobs’ breezy documentary somehow manages to make it all seem downright homey. Interviews with Johnny Carson sidekick and former Atlantic City boardwalk huckster Ed McMahon and crony Arnold “Mr. Knife” Morris are downright nostalgic. You get the inescapable feeling that this sort of capitalistic byproduct is as American as Mom, baseball, and apple pie, despite the fact that the film traces the pitchmen’s origins to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. As quickly paced and breathlessly intoned as the com- mercials it profiles, Jacobs’ amusingly wacky film highlights what is by all accounts a rapidly vanishing art form — that of separating the consumer from his money while entertaining him at the same time.

    By Marc Savlov

  • Hur-ray, hur-ray, step right up and behold this Space Age marvel. It slices, it dices, it thoroughly entertains. It’s Pitch People, a documen- tary on those mesmerizing spielmeisters who hawk everything from carving knives to feather dusters to coleslaw/salsa makers, yammering at us from carnival booths and television screens.

    Filmmaker Stanley Jacobs follows the community of fast-talking prod- uct demonstrators who travel from fair to fair, living off their ability to bequile and separate us from our money by pitching gizmos that cut vegetables into slinkies. Gizmos that we buy and throw in drawers when we realize we cannot make them work like the pitch people did.

    In glib, mellifluous interviews, they give away a few trade secrets — “It’s not what you sell, it’s how you tell them the price,” explains one practi- tioner — but don’t expect to learn enough to prevent you from falling for these genial sales artists the next time.

    In fact, you will probably gain a new affection for their skills. They are, of course, selling to Jacobs and seducing the camera as they talk. Pitch People is more tribute than expose and by the end you wouldn’t want it any other way.

    Jacobs begins with the traveling snake oil salesmen (represented cheekily by a clip from Danny Kaye’s The Court Jester) and eventually takes us inside the television studios of today’s sophisticated infomer- cials. He overreaches, attempting to widen his topic to the sociology of American consumerism, but like the plastic knives that we see fre- quently cutting into the head of a steel hammer, Pitch People never gets dull.

  • Documentaries hold a special place in the movie business, more hon- ored than attended. For me, they attain a higher average of interest and quality than fiction films as they take you to places and allow you to meet people you’d never expect to encounter. As one for whom TV infomercials are a guilty pleasure, I was taken with Pitch People, Stanley Jacobs’ wildly entertaining film about the “second oldest pro- fession” that got started by itinerant snake-oil salesmen, went on to fairs and boardwalks and now appears on television, often selling kitchen slicing apparatus.

    By Charles Britton

  • ★★★★☆

    Can you imagine a world without adverts? In truth we can trace them back to ancient times, when they took the form of papyrus posters or were simply painted onto rock. This is a long way, however, from the dynamic of the salesperson’s patter. This film follows that development of that patter as it first emerged in the US, and its journey from fairground stalls to trade shows and TV screens, paying tribute to those who excelled at the art of the pitch.

    It opens with a cluster of ads. Kitchen gadgets feature of course, and wonder diets and miracle hair loss treatments. Suddenly a man says authoritatively “I’m going to reproduce an atomic explosion. Now don’t get nervous. Don’t get alarmed or excited.” There is nothing, it seems, that cannot be made into a product, reframed, made desirable. 90% of what they sell is trash, the pitch people agree. Some customers seem to know that too, and to buy not so much because they want or need the products as because they want to pay for the entertaining experience of being sold them. One woman tells a pitch man decisively that if she were not already married she would marry him.

    Could you stand up in a public place and sell a random product to strangers? Most people find it very difficult. Without enthusiasm on the part of the pitcher, nobody will buy. The salesperson has to be confident, passionate, fluent, able to talk non-stop for prolonged periods without ever missing a line or running out of ideas, able to take on any challenge. Some of those interviewed admit to being terrified to begin with. They often took it up out of financial desperation. They need some natural charisma, but the film makes clear that to a large extent, charisma is a learned skill. The most successful pitchers, they all agree, are those who really enjoy it.

    In these days of late capitalism, when people are increasingly suspicious of materialism and exploitation, it’s easy to forget how much fun it once was. There’s a kind of purity and innocence about the early footage used in Pitch People. The technique developed from the selling of herbal medicines sold at county fairs in the early days of European settlers in North America, sometimes as part of a carnival, we are told. 209th Century pitch people explain that they made most sales really early and really late, at the fairs. They discuss technique and the tricks of the trade, such as freezing food when selling knives to make it harder so the knives will cut through it cleanly and look sharper. They show a deep affection for one another, admiring each others’ skills, talking about the legendary figures now gone, the showbiz aspect of it all.

    “Television was designed to sell products,” we are reminded – something that may not be true everywhere but makes sense in the context of the US. Programmes were an afterthought, but that might not have mattered when the pitch people were at their best. Some of their work was clearly easier with customers low on general knowledge and scientific understanding – there is talk of the enormous success of gadgets with names ending in ‘-matic’, whilst the supposed properties of others are explained in ways which sound dubious in the extreme – but that’s not to downplay the art. Over time, of course, it would be transformed by television, which would also see the trade available at fairs diminish to the point where there was no longer a living in it. Nostalgia for the thrill of live performance is mixed, here, with an appreciation of innovation and the new possibilities it created, the new careers which opened up for some.

    Funny, sharp-witted and keenly observational, Stanley Jacobs’ documentary, which travelled the festival circuit in 1999 but is now reaching general audiences for the first time, does a good job of getting to know people who are experts in distraction, digging beneath the razzle dazzle to find out what makes them tick. In doing so, it captures something of the essence of the American Dream, and it will give you a fresh appreciation of the brave, adventurous, smooth-talking hustlers who made it happen.

    The final half-hour goes to an especially fun place, recounting how television changed the nature of pitching. Thanks to Ronald Reagan deregulating how long commercials could be, a format known as the “infomercial” was born, and pitchers could suddenly get themselves in front of millions via television. That changed the nature of the game, while also leading to the creation of unlikely celebrities. Fun footage of infomercials being made is included.

    Pitch People doesn’t offer anything special in the way of filmmaking. It’s pretty pedestrian in that sense. But the material is well organized, and the interviewees are well chosen. Running 88 minutes, this is a fast-paced, enjoyable look at one of the most unusual professions around.

  • Writer/director Stanley Jacobs’ (96 Souls) documentary Pitch People made its premiere at the Palm Beach Film Festival in 1999. It had a successful festival run, but technical issues prevented it from getting a proper release. When COVID shut down most production work, Jacobs decided to revisit his film and, using digital technology, restore it. And now, twenty-five years later, it’s finally seeing a release.

    Pitch People opens with old Hollywood movie footage depicting snake oil salesmen, the original American pitchmen, mixed with footage of actual pitch people before diving right into a subject that is a lot more interesting than one might think. In a variety of short soundbites, we get a quick history of the trade from biblical days up through the time the film was shot during the age of the infomercials, or maybe I should say the second age of the infomercials. Because as we find out, half our shows, that were designed to sell the sponsor’s product, in this case a cooking show sponsored by a grill maker, flourished during the early days of television.

    But, even before that, there were the pitch men, or demonstrators as they were called, who worked the carnivals, state fairs and boardwalks of resorts like Atlantic City. Pitch People features interviews with, and stories about, several members of the Morris family. From their patriarch, the late Nathan Morris, who found success manufacturing and selling things like “The Glass Knife” and “The Morris Metric Slicer” to his sons Arnold and Lester and extended family.

    Part of that extended family was his cousin Sam Popeil, with whom he had an acrimonious relationship that included lawsuits over infringing products. Ironically, the two now share a final resting place in the same family plot. Sam’s son Ron would found Ronco, the company responsible for so many of those cheap gadgets whose ads filled the airwaves.

    Probably the most recognizable person interviewed in Pitch People is Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s sidekick on the Tonight Show and the face of the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. He recalls making $500 a week working Atlantic City’s boardwalk, back when a loaf of bread cost five cents and a bottle of milk seven. McMahon also says that Jack Klugman from the original Odd Couple and movie tough guy Charles Bronson worked there as well, something I hadn’t heard before. The image of Bronson, best known for playing Paul Kersey in the Death Wish films, selling kitchen gadgets had me laughing.

    Jacobs keeps the film’s pace quick as the various interviewees tell their stories, stories that tend to be quite entertaining since they’re being told by people whose job was to entertain crowds while persuading them to buy their products. And there’s a weird fascination in hearing the differences and similarities in how they managed to do that

    Unfortunately, as the pitches move from in person to late night television, the film becomes somewhat less interesting. Some of the products we see on display at the National Infomercial Conference, like The Wonder Scooper, a plastic rake you wore like a glove, are amusing. And a sequence where a product repeatedly fails because it was assembled wrong is also good for a laugh. But shooting commercials lacks the interest of working the fairgrounds and street markets.

    Pitch People ends on a somewhat sombre note, as many of them see it as a dying profession. We see Nathan Morris’ factory in Ashbury Park, now boarded up and abandoned, empty spots where street markets and pitch booths once thrived, etc. Others say there will always be a job for a good pitchman, and as long as there are used car dealerships, he’s probably right.

    Overall though, Pitch People is a fun, light-hearted look at these fast talking salesmen and women. It manages to make its subjects endearing while skilfully dancing around the fact most of the stuff the sold us, or our parents, was useless crap.

  • “Pitch People” Offers Heartwarming Nostalgia with Minimal Reflection

    We’ve all bought something we’ve seen on TV. Perhaps it was a radical vegetable dicer, a super-absorbent towel, a stain-removing serum, or a manicure set. And why did we buy these likely useless products? Most likely a pitch person with a magnetic charm. These specialized sales people excel at convincing us that not only is their product the best on the market, but our lives will be infinitely better once we have it in our possession. They sell to the masses by capturing attention, rattling off a self-effacing joke, then breezily passing on the product in exchange for our cash. The industry has morphed over the years to fit a series of new mediums, but what hasn’t changed are the likable and hard-working faces of these forgettable products – the people who pitch us their various wares.

    The “second oldest profession” in the world is chronicled in Pitch People, a delightful documentary from Stanley Jacobs. Filmed and compiled in 1999, this nostalgic true story has been fully restored in 4K and is now available in full for the first time. Reaching back to the early 20th century with traveling salesmen in decorated wagons, experts and industry veterans revisit iconic tricks of the trade while explaining how they’ve evolved to keep up with a shifting market. We learn about the grueling hours of a pitch person’s day and the importance of always showing a fresh face to the world. It’s a fascinating peek behind the curtain of a unique type of performance that often goes overlooked.

    In addition to archival footage dating back decades, we watch practiced salesmen explain the secrets of their success. Genre icons like Nancy Ann Nelson and Arnold Morris remember accidental innovations developed out of necessity as well as the importance of competition and advantageous locales. Colleagues remember experiences working with Ron Popeil and Ed McMahon and we’re treated to behind the scenes footage of ubiquitous infomercials.

    Of course, any growing industry is bound to have its skeletons. With such a close-knit group of hard-working salesmen always on the go, it’s only natural that families and feuds would be born out of the intense conditions of this unusual world. We learn just a bit about the legendary Popeil family and what sounds like a relatively lighthearted battle with the Morris clan, but Jacobs stops short of fully investigating serious corruption or scandal. Though he is featured in the documentary, we also learn surprisingly little about Ron Popeil, who coined the iconic “Set it and forget it!” line and is arguably the most recognizable pitch person of all time. Like a practiced salesman, Jacobs keeps the story moving, focusing our eye on the positive while using a cinematic sleight of hand to distract from less savory information.

    The film also refrains from exploring the products themselves. We join our pitchmen with product in hand and never learn much about how they came by these wares. Focusing mainly on the process of pitching, Jacobs does not concern himself with the cost of selling essentially useless items to a captivated audience or the ethical implications of championing flimsy products destined to end up in a landfill.

    Despite these omissions, the film is nostalgic fun and will likely remind viewers of lazy days watching TV on the couch. We’re reunited with familiar faces from our childhood and gain fascinating insight into how they became household names. Like the products they sell in the best infomercials, there’s not much substance in this lighthearted documentary. But Pitch People dazzles us with charming faces and captures our attention for a brief moment in time before we inevitably move on to something else.

  • An engaging look at the snake-charming ways of professional product hawkers, “Pitch People” tells you more than you probably thought you wanted to know about those folks who’ve made the purchase of Whip-O-Matics, Miracle Knives and other slicing, dicing, scrubbing, broiling gadgets seem like a life-or- death necessity. A broader scope and more retro-kitsch stylish approach might have made this the “Atomic Cafe” of TV hard-salesmanship. By focusing on personalities, Stanley Jacobs’ docu provides an amiable diversion, albeit one that’s a bit content-lite for feature length; broadcast berths seem preor- dained, with trimdown for 60-minute slots unlikely to do much harm.

    Brief early seg charts the trade back to transient “medicine men” hawking “herbal remedies” — as one latter-day “demonstrator” notes, such vending is probably the “world’s second oldest profession.” Once fellow travelers on the carnival circuit, now more likely to appear at trade shows and consumer “fairs,” the old-school pitch men used to consider Atlantic City boardwalks as their career Mecca. (A genial Ed McMahon, who’s spent his post-Carson years hosting infomercials, got his start there; he says Charles Bronson and Jack Klugman did, too.)

    Leading lights were a tight-knit, largely all-in-the-family concern. Late patriarch of the still-active Morris clan was an inventor and manufacturer as well as a pioneer in TV marketing. The Popeils of Popeil Potato Peeler fame were the Morrises’ chief competitors. (Final credits duly note that “Ronco” Ron Popeil, probably the most famous pitcher, refused to be interviewed for pic.) It’s mentioned that the two camps were not above swiping ideas from each other, but this intriguing rivalry isn’t explored further.

    Amusing ads from TV’s infancy onward hawk novelty items guaranteed to make your hair grow back, weight go down, household dust vanish and vegetables slice into virtual objets d’art. Of course, as one veteran notes, most people suckered in by the “pitch” probably used the product once or twice, then fuh- goddaboudit. But millions had already been pocketed. Feature’s most entertaining bits are those in which pro demonstrators work their garrulous, nimble-fingered magic at trade fairs. The spellbound, must-have expressions that develop on initially wary passers-by proves there’s still one born every minute.

    Taking a break from his covert Latin American operations, President Reagan found time to deregulate TV advertising, meaning that commercials need no longer be 60 seconds or less. Hence the mid-’80s birth of the infomercial, a pitch disguised (often at an hour’s length) as chat, cooking or home-improve- ment show. Some of these programs run for years — longer than all but a precious few broadcast series. Sequence of McMahon taping one such show with breathlessly excitable (on cue) co-host Maddy Press makes it clear that this is, well, as much a part of showbiz as anything else.

    More dubious is the suggestion that old-school pitching is “a dying art,” as wrap-up suggests; clearly, the form lives on, ever-changing to suit new media and new auds. Though some material here grows repeti- tious, pic is pacey enough, with a humorous but non-condescending P.O.V. Tech aspects are pro. Camera (color), John Armstrong; music, Brian Scott Bennett; sound (Dolby Digital), Ted Hall.

    By Dennis Harvey

  • We see them on infomercials or at the mall, delivering spiels. In the documentary Pitch People, they speak for themselves.

    Stanley Jacobs’ Pitch People, which screens tonight at 7:30 at the Egyptian, is one of the most entertaining films the American Cinematheque’s Alternative Screen showcase has presented.

    Finding an apt subject is ever the documentary filmmaker’s key task, and in this Jacobs has been truly inspired. He introduces a group of pitch people–individuals who try to sell all manner of gadgets and products by demonstrating how they work–at fairs, flea markets and, of course, on TV, especially in the age of the infomercial.

    These are colorful, engaging folks who work hard trying to induce us to buy those kitchen gadgets that slice, dice, grate and shred with lightning speed and efficiency. The golden rule, we learn, is that the product must actually work and that the pitch person must believe in it. Whether you will actually get around to using such thingamajigs once you get them home is a whole other matter–the last thing that the pitch person wants you to think about.

    Receiving special attention are two brothers, Arnold and Lester Morris, of Asbury Park, N.J. Their father, Nat, was a pioneering legend in the field, as was Nat’s cousin and rival, Seymour Popeil, whose descendant Ron has been hailed as the salesman of the century–and, unfortunate- ly, is not among Jacobs’ interviewees. Lester pioneered pitches on TV and, in fact, back in the ’50s built an infomercial-style cooking show around a rotisserie he was selling. The Morrises gave the world the glass knife and the fruit juice extractor; today, Arnold is famed for selling knives.

    Pitch people understand that they’re in a form of show business, so it figures that no less than Ed McMahon got his start from Lester selling the Morris Metric Slicer on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

    Jacobs’ film is framed with a treasure trove of vintage clips, and it leaves us realizing that the traditional pitch, delivered to a live audience, may be a dying art.

  • Our second piece of booty is a 90 minute Documentary entitled PITCH PEOPLE, produced, directed, and edited by Stanley Jacobs. It is really unfortunate that a lot of people cringe when they even hear the word documentary. I person- ally think that is because many docs just simply aren’t done properly.

    First: I don’t believe as a documentarian, a director or interviewer should not become a character in the film. I under- stand, sometimes it is necessary to have a question and answer session taped in it’s entirety, but if done properly, the subject matter should appear to an audience as if it was telling itself. Have a voice over if there are any gaps. When was the last time you watched the Discovery or History channel and saw a production about a journalist trying to make a movie about a period of history…you don’t…and if you did…then it wouldn’t be a good documentary, then would it?

    Rant over…Mr. Jacobs’ PITCH PEOPLE is a wonderful example of how to properly and interestingly create a docu- mentary.

    Pitch People is the history of the salesmen and women that started hawking their wares from the back of carts…the old “snake-oil” salesmen, through the days of boardwalks and fairs, and have ended up on the modern infomercial. One of the things I enjoyed about Pitch People is that it opened me up to a society and distinction of people that I really never thought about much before.

    I know I’ve sat in front of the television, trying to change that channel, but couldn’t help but stare at that chopper/slicer/car wax/whatever-it-is-o-matic, but never really thought of the origins of these types of salesmen.

    The pitch person really is a very specific sort of actor… I’ve acted and sold things in my time, and yes I do have a Mouth on me the size of Montana…and selling things is very difficult for me. So it amazes me to see these men and women go. As an actor, what’s the feedback you get from your audience?

    Pitch People is a extremely well-shot and cut film. In many independent films, there might be something about it, no matter how small, that yells independent. Perhaps it’s a particular actor or set. Maybe it’s the way the light doesn’t quite work in a particular scene. Albeit something small, usually there’s a tip-off of some sort. In Pitch People, I almost forgot I was watching an independent documentary. The quality of the editing, letting the Pitch People tell the story themselves, it really drew me in. Perhaps that’s the allure…these actors have had the hardest acting job of all time, Pitch Sales, for as long as some of them can remember, no wonder sitting in front of a camera and just talking is so easy for them.

    I know how difficult it might be for a documentary these days to make a successful theatrical run. I think the last one I saw really hang on locally was “Hands on a Hard Body,” which I will refrain from commenting on, but people here in Austin at least liked it enough to keep it in the theatre a very long time. I think an incredibly high-quality production such as this would do just as well, if not better…heck, it’s got Ed McMahon in it, for goodness sakes!! That having been said, not being familiar with this sort of transaction, perhaps a more profitable or viable option would be to pursue video or cable distribution through channels that play documentary-style productions, such as the Discovery or History channels. I could really see this film played regularly, with the video sold afterward on either one of the afore-mentioned channels.

    Some film makers or readers may be offended by this, because it removes a film from the format of the theatre. Then again, when starting out, sometimes concessions have to be made if societally, a movie you have painstakingly created may not be accepted by the public because of simply what type of movie it is.

    Sad state we live in… but readers, let’s try to change that. Widen your perceptions, go see something you maybe wouldn’t normally see. You may be very surprised.

  • Do you recognize the following three products: the Artic Hat, the Air Hawk, and the Easy Feet? What if these were replaced with Veggetti, Shake Weight, or ShamWow? Can you picture them? Hear the sales pitch? Can you remember the excitement emanating off the exuberant host demonstrating the product as they swear it will make your life easier? You’ve seen them on boardwalks, you’ve seen them at fairs, and you’ve most certainly seen them on TV — the salespeople with an energy that won’t quit. Back in 2000, filmmaker Stanley Jacobs created a documentary, Pitch People, on these people, offering an opportunity to spread the fairly rich history connecting the United Kingdom and United States. The film couldn’t find distribution then, but, now, the film’s undergone restoration and is set to release on VOD and digital for the whole world to access and proclaim it “As Seen On TV,” too.

    Enthusiastic from start to finish, Jacobs’s Pitch People begins with various cinematic examples of salespeople, typically medicine men-types, in order to show audiences what they expect to see, before pivoting toward the real people that sold the products. In between interviews with these individuals and footage of their stories, Jacobs weaves in historical context that not only explains how a form of sales popular in the United Kingdom shifted to the United States in the 1970s/1980s, but how interconnected many of the well-known purveyors of products are. The further into the documentary one goes, the less one sees of the stereotypes provided in entertainment as the reality of what the pitch people do comes to light. Is it a show? Yes. Are they selling you something? That’s no secret. But the presumption that what they do is easy goes right out the window before even 20 minutes of the 87 minute-long documentary has passed.

    The arena of sales is very niche, especially when it comes to documentary filmmaking. Sure, audiences are likely going to be familiar with some aspect of the topic given the prevalence and proliferation of As-Seen-On-TV products, but it’s not exactly a topic that audiences yearn for. Given the chance, Pitch People will absolutely surprise you as the film is edited and paced in such a way that the stories from interviewees such as Arnold Morris (known in the business as “Mr. Knife”), Lester Morris, Nancy Nelson, Jan Muller, and, yes, Ed McMahon, entrance us. Their job always was to get people to stick around, to use their space to captivate, and to make sales. Here, much of that is repurposed but with the intent for audiences to remain seated, whether sharing something specific to the “pitch” lifestyle, an aspect of mutual history among products and the people who sold them, or the techniques used throughout “pitch” history. Sometimes this means that an interviewee’s story plays over a montage of video and photographical materials, other times the story is the entrance to or exit from an extended sequence where we get to watch a pitch person at work. These sequences, though often (necessarily) lengthy, highlight not just the skills of the people as they work, but just how captivating they could be in front of an audience. Showing these sequences does help illustrate how this profession could have the longevity it possesses as well as why it made sense to transition into television, even if that might be part of the death knell for the industry as a whole.

    A major thing to note is that this is a restoration, so set expectations appropriately. This isn’t to suggest that the footage we see and hear is poor in quality; Jacobs restores the film exceptionally well so that the material is easy to absorb without distraction from dirt, grime, or decay. What this note refers to is that Pitch People is deeply rooted in the era in which it was originally intended to be released. This means you’re going to hear language, slang specifically, that wouldn’t pass the P.C. test (even though historically accurate) and that the film doesn’t address the landscape of infomercials and As-Seen-On-TV products now, making one feel as though the full story isn’t being presented. This isn’t a fault on Jacobs specifically, the film was put into a vault, so to speak, when it couldn’t get its initial distribution, making what we’re watching something left in a time capsule from 25 years ago. In the realm of sales, this may as well be several lifetimes as rises and falls are fairly standard and rapid.

    When anything is done that appears easy, anyone thinks they can do it. You see someone write a review, illustrate a book, cook, or make music, if the creator is any good at what they do, there’s an element of ease to it that breeds false confidence in those who observe it. To that end, anyone can be salesperson, but not everyone can be good at it or even great. The people featured throughout Pitch People understood that selling is a complex dance between the seller, the object being sold, and the buyer. A dance which requires delicate handling and the perseverance to bring the same energy at the end of the day on your last day of your career as you do at the start of the day at the beginning of your career. What Jacobs presents not only uplifts these individuals, but highlights the impressiveness of the skillset required to do the job and succeed. In essence, Jacobs shifts the spotlight from the products onto the people, reminding us as to why we never strayed when the demonstrations began. Sure, the products may be interesting, but it’s the pitch people who made them magical and a necessity. And that you won’t find on TV.

  • Step Right Up, Folks: A 1999 Documentary, ‘Pitch People,’ Gets Its New York City Premiere

    It’s fairly common knowledge that “Aida” is a 19th-century opera by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. Did you know it’s also a business strategy that was put into practice by an ace pitchman, Jerry Crowley? “Aida,” in this case, serves as an acronym for “attention, interest, desire, action” — the latter being the transmission of both a bargain too-good-to-be-true and a fistful of cold hard cash. “Pitch People,” a documentary by Stanley Jacobs, is having its New York City premiere this coming Friday at Village East Cinema, some 25 years after its completion. Why the delay? Although it made the festival circuit back in 1999, the picture was never picked up for distribution. It took a worldwide pandemic, as well as the advent of streaming platforms, for Mr. Jacobs to take the film out of storage and give it a proper airing. What is a “pitchman?” New Yorkers who have frequented the Union Square Greenmarket over the years may recall an elderly British gent who had a way with vegetable peelers, Joe Ades. Sitting on the curbside and keeping an eye out for Greenmarket officials — Ades never filed for a permit to vend his wares — he would regale curious passersby, in his mellifluous Manchester accent, with the miraculous capabilities of his product. Ades was a grafter, the British term for a person of industriousness and ambition. You might be forgiven for thinking the word bears a close resemblance to “grifter,” an association Mr. Jacobs doesn’t altogether dispel. Still, the director keeps things light, opening with a scene from “The Inspector General” (1949), wherein Danny Kaye plays a snake oil salesman. Less manicured film clips follow, including a hugely unconvincing Indian chief extolling the health benefits of “Dr. Killpain’s Famous Stomach Bitters.”

    “You could go back in biblical days,” one of many featured salesmen, John Worsley, says, “and there were guys behind tables pitching or hawking something.” Elsewhere, pitching is posited, with a wink and a nod, as the second oldest profession. It also made good as a family business, if the Morris clan of Asbury Park, New Jersey, is an indication. Lester and Arnold Morris talk about their father, Nat, in terms that are admiring all the while admitting that his parenting style was strict. A day working with dad had Arnold crying: “But, boy, I’ll tell you, I never made the same mistake twice.” Tough he may have been, but Nat did invent the Morris Metric slicer, the crazy straw, and, in so many words, the infomercial. The villains of the piece, to the extent that anyone is villainous, are the Popeil family. Seymour Popeil was Nat Morris’s nephew and, to hear tell of it, “the same as anybody else: He was a hustler.” Seymour established his own business in Chicago, manufacturing kitchen gadgets that were a bit more high end and a bit more expensive. He went on to ensure his place in history by adding the word “-matic” to his products, i.e., the vegematic. Lawsuits ensued between Popeil and the Morris family; perhaps there was a certain amount of envy, as well. Other than Ron Popeil, the name casual television watchers might recognize is Ed McMahon. Johnny Carson’s sidekick worked his way through college during the 1940s pitching vegetable slicers on the boardwalk at Atlantic City. A 1986 clip from “The Tonight Show” has McMahon rattling off his patter like he’d been doing it yesterday: “I know a woman in Bayonne, New Jersey, who cut a tomato so slim it lasted all summer long!” “Pitch People” ends on an equivocal note. Over the strains of Bruce Springsteen’s “Sandy,” various pitchmen, none of them young, muse about the fate of their craft as the 20th century was drawing to a close. An actress who specialized in being the incredulous housewife in a number of infomercials, Nancy Nelson, says that the social good contributed by pitchmen is “not a big deal, but it’s nice.” The same could be said for Mr.

  • Originally released in 1999, Pitch People has been given new life via a restoration overseen by director Stanley Jacobs. The documentary is about precisely what the title implies: it takes a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of pitch salespersons. You know, the people who sell knives that can cut through bone or some new-fangled invention that slices, dices, and cubes all at once on late-night infomercials? Yeah, those folks are the subjects here. Does this snapshot of a particular time in pop culture still hold any cultural relevance, or is it too out of date for audiences to connect to?

    Among the notable figures in the documentary is Ed McMahon, a television personality who sold wares on the bustling Atlantic City boardwalk and later returned to the fast sell. Lester Morris was one of the pioneers who made a successful living by peddling his items on television. His brother, Arnold Morris, earned the moniker “Mr. Knife” for his legendary knife pitches, which were featured on several late-night talk shows. Nancy Nelson, with her knowledge of the entertainment industry and host duties, played a crucial role in bringing several pitch people to the forefront of the industry. These are just a few of the many subjects whose stories are shared in this 88-minute documentary, highlighting the historical significance of the pitch people and their impact on the entertainment industry.

    Originally released in 1999, Pitch People has been given new life via a restoration overseen by director Stanley Jacobs. The documentary is about precisely what the title implies: it takes a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of pitch salespersons. You know, the people who sell knives that can cut through bone or some new-fangled invention that slices, dices, and cubes all at once on late-night infomercials? Yeah, those folks are the subjects here. Does this snapshot of a particular time in pop culture still hold any cultural relevance, or is it too out of date for audiences to connect to?

    Among the notable figures in the documentary is Ed McMahon, a television personality who sold wares on the bustling Atlantic City boardwalk and later returned to the fast sell. Lester Morris was one of the pioneers who made a successful living by peddling his items on television. His brother, Arnold Morris, earned the moniker “Mr. Knife” for his legendary knife pitches, which were featured on several late-night talk shows. Nancy Nelson, with her knowledge of the entertainment industry and host duties, played a crucial role in bringing several pitch people to the forefront of the industry. These are just a few of the many subjects whose stories are shared in this 88-minute documentary, highlighting the historical significance of the pitch people and their impact on the entertainment industry.

    Ezoic

    “…a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of pitch salespersons.”

    Pitch People weaves a comprehensive narrative using a variety of storytelling techniques. The documentary incorporates archival footage, b-roll, and interviews to paint a vivid picture of the shockingly expansive historical scene. The rise of pitch people, which coincided with the post-World War II population explosion, is traced back to its origins. This historical context adds depth and significance to the documentary. Director Stanley Jacobs skillfully keeps the information flowing, while also highlighting the dwindling nature of the business, creating a compelling and informative viewing experience.

    But it’s all not dourness, as the subjects themselves bring tremendous levity. They are fast-talking and slick, to be sure. However, there are rules they follow, with the number one being that they must believe in the product. As Nelson, McMahon, Morris, Morris, or the other interviewees discuss what they do, there’s a real sense of joy. Watching them interact with their first customers of the day highlights just how personable and sweet most, if not all, of these salespeople are. The way they add a sense of urgency to the products by offering it to only X number of people or adding a freebie for a limited time proves how shrewd at business they are. If nothing else, this film shows that being a pitch person means needing to excel at reading people, smooth-talking, and knowing the product inside out.

    Pitch People is a wonderful surprise. While some new sequences about the rise of online shopping would really make this timeless, it’s still an excellent and compelling watch. The interviewees are a lively and fun bunch. The history of pitch people is unbelievable and comprehensively told.

  • Selling Us The Gadgets We Didn't Know We Needed

    25th Anniversary of the Never-Before-Seen Feature Documentary

    Fully Restored in 4K

    Directed, written, and produced by Stanley Jacobs (96 Souls), PITCH PEOPLE features Arnold Morris, Nancy Nelson, Lester Morris, Al Spino, Sandy Mason, Ed McMahon, Jerry Crowley, Joe Fowler, Jan Muller, John Parkin, Chester Nairne, Wally Nash, Jerry Mascuzzio, James Mason, Ian Long, and Harry Matheson.

    We've all seen them, whether you are at the fair or watching TV, 'Pitch People' are the show person who sells us the latest gadget that we didn't know that we needed. Until 1984, when Ronald Reagan made it ok for a commercial to last more than 60 seconds in the USA, the infomercial was born and the rest is history. But speaking of history, sales & pitch people have been selling since the beginning, or at least it's one of the stories we are told here in this fascinating documentary. This film is now 25 years old and it has a certain charm to it and it may not be of interest to a lot of people, but if you have ever been in sales in any capacity I am sure that this will interest you and give you some insight into some of the most popular gadgets that we had seen in the 1990s & before. Some great background on some of the items I remember having in our house or had seen at a friend's house, back in the day.

    I, Anthony, have been in sales as long as I can remember, my first real job on the sales floor, which would take me into people's homes was when I lived in Kelowna, BC. I worked for a vacuum sales company and was asked to join one of the salesmen in a home demonstration. It was set up at the store and we would follow up and go to the customer's house and show them why they needed our vacuum more than the one they already had.

    I was not good at it and only lasted a few weeks after trial & error.

    We later moved to Vancouver and after a few jobs here and there, I finally found a home at Varsity Video, where I would work for 5+ years. When I began there, I did not know how to sell anything, but my boss Bill Shellard took me under his wing and taught me how to sell a VCR and then upsell a TV.

    Again, we would "sell" a movie to a customer, the way we did that is to be on the sales floor and help the customer with the selection of their movie(s). Being a huge movie fan, this came easy to me and he got someone else to sell the bulkier items, VCRs & TVs.

    The difference here, in Pitch People, is that they are on convention floors, trade shows, and in the local fairs at times, not selling to one person at a time, but 20, 30 & possibly more with each plug they do for that item at a time.

    Now, with the infomercial they were selling millions from the ads, so many celebrities became spokespeople for certain products and even attached their names to them.

    The most interesting part of the film is the interviews with the 'Pitch People' themselves, how they got into it, why they kept doing it, and how they think the future of the industry will do. There is really no secret trick here, some are clearly better at it than most and they are the ones that have made millions off of one, or more products in their lifetime.

    The amount of people that are interviewed & featured in this film is great and each has some stories to share. You may not have seen that particular person in the town or city where you live, but the product was definitely there.

    Seeing this documentary brought back a lot of memories for me from seeing some of the old advertisements and seeing some of the old footage of some of the salespeople working their charm on the crowd.

    Like any business, they are all connected and in it for the same reason, for the money, but where this could have been turned into a kind of sleazy documentary, I saw a love for the business of it all and the people who are in the world of sales and helping people with certain items that were mainly around the home, generally the kitchen.

    There is pride there in the quality of the products that are sold and it's all about building up one's confidence and believing in the product enough to be able to sell it to even one person, let alone millions.

  • Pitch People
    WFG RATING: A-

    You know those products you see in infomercials? Well, this documentary takes a look at both the history of these products as well as a look at how the informercials you know and love are made.

    The world of pitching products to good ol’ folks has been around for years. The trend began in Europe but soon enough, people like Nat Morris, Ron Popeil, and others began inventing and hawking productions at the World’s Fair, which would soon move to shopping malls across the nation. When television became big, commercials for products began to result with not just the inventors hawking their own products, but getting help from well-known celebrities. This would soon blow up in the 1990s when instead of 30-second spots, there would be 30-minute “infomercials” for these products.

    This documentary from Stanley Jacobs was originally released in 1999 and this year marks it’s 25th anniversary thus, the film has been restored for a new generation to enjoy. You may have seen these now called “as seen on TV products” on YouTube whether it’s a nostalgic archive channel or even a Top 10 list from the likes of WatchMojo. This is a great look at the history of how inventors hawked their own products as we get an intimate look at the trend through the eyes of those who were directly involved, whether it is an inventor themselves or their kin.

    We get to see footage of people hawking their products in front of small crowds, such as those with new kitchen inventions and others. We also took a look at a rivalry between the Morris family and Popeil family over a home haircut product and both parties settled out of court for a very low amount due to unforeseen circumstances and the fact that they just wanted to not deal with the matter anymore.

    We also take a look at the making of infomercials, which feature the likes of Maddy Press, Joe Fowler, and the legendary Ed McMahon. We see one product somewhat causing issues and having to use replacements to ensure the product works to make the product look good for the cameras. It may seem like people may feel they could potentially be scammed down the road, but the inventors actually do mean well. Despite the fact that sometimes we see defects, the products can work and be beneficial if they are the right ones for you.

    Pitch People is an intimate look at the world of product hawking and it is quite a fascinating journey that started in Europe and made its way through various means in the United States.