Jun 24 2009
PitchMen LiveBlog - Crunch Time- EZ Crunch Bowl - Gator Blades?
Tune in tonight as As Seen on TV Network brings another fascinating liveblog of our newest tv addiction: “PitchMen.” The show will air tonight at 10pm EST/9pm EST on Discovery Channel with a reairing 3 hours later at 1amEST/12amEST.
Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan team up to back a new way to enjoy your breakfast cereal. That’s when they’re not having to dodge the “Bug Bazooka” when shooting a commercial for a new windshield wiper. Though the name of the windshield wiper isn’t given, we’ve got our guesses. We think it’s the old Gator Blades:
AND when PitchMen is over, the fun continues at As Seen on TV Network’s Forums! Find your friends and chat in real time about the episode or most anything else infomercial product-related.
But Wait, There’s MORE…Here We Go
What will Billy n Sully pick this week? Ahhh…there’s the Gator Blade. We’ve got a winner…more importantly, our suspicion was confirmed.
Product: The Gator Blade
Inventor: Zach Ritchie
What makes the Gator Blade so spectacular is that it can crush the bugs in the the Florida Everglades and Slush in the winter. Ritchie himself is a full-time inventor. The idea came when he drove into a swarm of bugs and the current wipers didn’t have the friction to remove the bugs. A manufacturing mishap lead to the Chinese prototype needed. Now all he needs is a little Billy n Sully.
“This has to make it for me. I don’t except anything else.” - Ritchie
To wow Billy n Sully, Ritchie suggests a Bug Gun for a Wow demonstration.
Billy is onto another Mighty Product - Mighty Shine - from the family of Mighty Mend-It. Whatca doin’ with that sword and chain mail, Sir Billy?
“How do I go to the bathroom?” - Billy
Ethan Zohn will be pitching the EZ Crunch Bowl soon
Commercial break :11 after
Ethan Zohn is a Survivor winner. Him and Sully met a few ears back. Zohn got the idea for the EZ Crunch Bowl after making himself a bowl of cereal after a night of drinking. He woke up with a soggy bowl of cereal in front of him and figured something had to change.
Product: EZ Crunch Bowl
Inventor: Ethan Zohn
Gator Blades - Ritchie and a budd are inventing the Wow demonstration for the Gator Blades shoot (sorry for the upcoming pun). They’re idea: Bug Bazooka - a mambo jambo PVC canon with compressed air tanks to shoot bugs out at high speeds.
Commercial break :18 after
The EZ Crunch Bowl has no prototype but breakfast cereal is an 8 billion dollar industry. Only one thing to do: TELEBrands time.
AJ Khubani’s initial reaction: “that’s a stupid idea.”
Zohn is pushing the reality star celebrity angle and pushing his stints on talk shows.
Khubani things the idea will sell, but not in DR. Khubani also points out he didn’t think Snuggie or PedEgg would sell in DR either. Khubani doesn’t want to do it, but is trusting in Billy n Sull’s passion and will make prototpes for FREE.
“But it better sell millions. Not just to drunk college kids.” - AJ
Gator Blades shoot time:
3,000 live crickets from a Bug Bazooka is the idea.
“These things have a very short lifespan. And we’re about to make it a lot short.”
Problem: Billy Mays, III, @youngbillymays, is not a fan. He’s a big bug lover. He’s thinkin’ about saving a few. And now Billy Mays, III has to clean up the bug mess after takes. He’s not gonna take it anymore! Wait, where’s he going…
“Billlllly,” screams Screams an angered Sully.
Commercial break :29 after
“Billy’s a great kid and he seemed genuinely concerned about the welfare of those bugs…they were gonna get eaten anyway.” - Sully
The bugs are returned safely. That bug bazooka shoots at about 100 MPH.
Sully took a cathartic shot with the bug bazooka.
The shot runs into an issue - product malfunction. Not a good thing is daylight waning. He’s gonna have to talk to his Chinese production team to see if they can fix the issue.
In between. Billy and Sully have an inventor that can help with the fuel issue. Billy and Sully admit the product is out of there league. Then the next guy brings in the Marco Polo goggles, “Isn’t it a bit dangerous?” - Sully. Then another guy wants to sell a tie with a pocket in back that sells for at least $40(not that a tie tack couldn’t do anything). The inventor even does a handstand to prove how well it works.
Gator Blades edit time. At the same time, Ritchie is trying to fix the issue - why it wouldn’t work in cold weather. The problem seems to be with the rubber. It is soft enough for the bug issue but not hard enough for the winter elements. Ritchie is going to China to figure out the issue.
“I think this is the first time we’ve shot a commercial and have not had a product to ship.” - Sully
Commercial break :44 after
After 8 weeks and 10k, the EZ Crunch Prototypes are done. Time for the focus groups.
“I don’t think it’ll be a home run but I think there are enough cereal enthusiasts to make it worth a shot.”
Video Conference with Ethan and Telebrands at TeleBrands and Billy n Sull with the focus groups (complete with Shameless PedEgg product placement billboard behind AJ). People are spilling it, “It’s okay, I have a ZorBEEZ.
Most of the focus groups have these concerns: it looks too much like a dog bowl, it’s to big, a notch to keep the spoon from falling in, “if we can’t get around the dog bowl look i’m gonna call it the EZ Dog Bowl.” - Sully.
AJ sounds like he’s having a change of heart about the product about the product.
Commercial Break :52 after
(just saw a commercial for next weeks PitchMen. Could we see ZorBEEZ coming? to PitchMen?”)
Ethan shoots one last to A before AJ makes up his mind, “one out of every 2 people start off their day with a bowl of cereal.”
TELEBrands deliberation time. AJ’s starting with the negative stuff first. He’s saying the product will need to be redesigned. The compelling part of the product: the market size. And because of the market size, TELEBrands is gonna take a stab at it.
Ethan’s through the roof in excitement.
“It’s all in the pitch,” - Sully.
“I like the dog bowls…” Billy, “You don’t even need a spoon..EZ Dog Bowls”
Thank you for taking the time out to enjoy our liveblog of this episode of PitchMen. Remember the party continues at As Seen on TV Network’s Forums! And to find all our favorite infomercial products in one spot, check out As Seen on TV Network.
howcan i buy a gator blade
Ok. The “Gator Blade”. The inventor is talking about driving through the Everglades and he can’t get the bugs off his windshield. Anyone who lives in Florida knows it’s love bugs he can’t get off his windshield, yet in the product commercial they are launching crickets at 100 mph onto a windshield. That’s not even in the same ballpark as a love bug. Anyone with any experience (and it doesn’t take much as all you have to do is drive through Florida) knows that love bug guts are like super glue, so using crickets is the same as using rain. The wipers look great, but they’re no different than the Bosche, Rain X, or any of the other new wipers. Billy, if you’re going to advertise what it’s suppose to do, I suggest you get a crate of love bugs instead of lizard food.
Re the “Crunch Bowl.” Did you notice that the guy that gave it a 1 for style was wearing some kind of nerdy duncecap or something? Frankly, that guy downgrading for style is a real example of the pot calling the kettle black.
As for the “Gator Blade,” if it does like advertised with love bugs, sign me up.
Re: gator blade.
What a great American Idea…To bad it has to be ruined by china. I hate that we are so concerned with the cheap crap we get from china! Why dont you spend the money you waste on going to china/waiting for shipments from china, that at the end are done the wrong way, or use cheap material. I would spend more money if it were made here in America with Heart and good material. The china stuff is made to break!
I love the idea and am sorry that china screwed it up for the inventor. We need jobs in this country and good strong products. I believe Billy and Sully could really do America a favor and get these inventors to use American skill.
Normally I dont rant but I’m so sick of cheap stuff made out of china I came to this reality one day shopping at wal-mart I thought that I had to shop there because i have 4 children to raise and they were cheap…Yep cheap is what it is cheaply made china merchandise, that doesnt last! I would have to go back and buy it all over again. What a waste of money!!! I try my best to buy american stuff that last it may be a little more but well WORTH it. The stuff lasts for years.
Sorry for ranting just had to get that off my chest.
I have to agree about the Chinese wipers. Maybe Zach Ritchie should have taken his excellent idea to an American manufacturer to see if they could turn it into an excellent product instead of trying to maximize his profits by going to China. I am certain that I am not the only person more likely to purchase a product that is made here as opposed to China, even if it cost a little more. When all the manufacturing jobs are in China who is going to buy your products here?
The gator blade name is already in use for the best mower blades around: http://www.gatorblade.com/
Gator Blade great idea, doesn’t look like Zach Richie has a patent for this idea, I have owned a double blade windshield wiper before they worked ok. They were just 2 sets if blades mounted together. I do think Zach should get them made here in USA, not saving much going to china, have better quality control, less shipping costs, jobs here, etc. etc. In the show Zach was beating himself up for not getting the rubber composition just right for salt and bugs ie “all conditions”.
the answer is: Uh, he doesn’t need to make an all purpose rubber.
He can custom make the rubber for different regions of the USA. A stiffer rubber blade for northern states for snow and ice and a ’softer’ rubber sold to southern states for bugs. And for those states with snow and bugs, make one blade from soft rubber and the other blade stiffer rubber - bingo,
oh geeze, i just posted a million dollar idea…
oh well, easy come easy go.
RE: EZ Crunch Cereal Bowl
This just infuriates me. So many good ideas out there and they give this guy even more air time. You’ve had your fame, Ethan. Get your moppy head off my screen with your lame-ass bowl.
So after waking up hungover and drunk, your first thought was to eat the milk that had been sitting out for hours and hours. Nice.
Want crunchy cereal? Eat it before it gets soggy. Geez. Either that, or stop buying Count Chocula and try a real cereal which tastes better after a few minutes of milk time.
RIP BILLY
I really like the show, it shows how we as a Country are selling out to other Countries like China to cheaply produce products that otherwise could be superior American made products that Country’s like China and Japan would pay to have imported, instead of the other way around.
Why America has to lower their work standards, like it’s a shameful thing to work hard, own a Home and make a decent life for your Family.
Instead, we’ve sold out and as Ross Perot warned so many Years ago, we’re just now hearing the sucking sound of or heritage as the greatest Nation in the World as it’s flushed down the Toilet.
If Zach would have taken his idea to a Wiper manufacturer here in America wait, They’ve all moved abroad…
In other Words, there’s nowhere left here in America that could do this, maybe that’s why Zach went to China, maybe he had no other choice.
I’ve watched over the Years as Friends, Family, and Neighbors have lost good jobs due to outsourcing and it’s really been sad to watch as they’ve moved from jobs they had for 5, 10, 20, 35 Years just to find another job that in less than a Year gets outsourced as well.
You can’t blame Billy, Sully nor Zach for whats taken a Decade to happen.
I wish, as I’m sure Zach wishes as well, that there where a Company here in the USA where he could have taken his idea and had a true quality product made.
The problem is, they’ve all outsourced to foreign Country’s as well so if he did go to a Company here in America, chances are they would have used the SAME Chinese Company he’s already dealing with.
Anyway, enough ranting, I hope Zach gets his Product right before he goes broke, it’s an awesome idea.
As for the Dog Bowl, it’s too stupid to even comment on, I think it was a joke Tele Brands was willing to pay for in order to get a laugh.
It was funny… :O)
P.S.
You Guys need to find another name for Gator Blades, it’s already taken by a Co that makes Lawn Mower Mulching Blades.
The name Gator Blade is owned by Fiskars:
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pdfs/trademarks/hearings/707010.pdf
Don, Like so many of us you need to educate yourself on trademark law. Just because a lawn mower blade is named “Gator Blade”, that doesn’t mean another non-mower blade can’t use the name. When a trademark is applied for the owner has the option of securing the name in several product categories. Want to sell tee shirts? You must register that category separately from mower blades.
Well, none of this matters since Mr. Richey copied this idea from a company called Scrublade. He is not a real inventor but a thief! I think it’s horrible that he wasted the late Billy Mays time with a copied “invention”… As soon as they asked Zach if there was anything else like this you could tell he was lying thru his teeth. If anyone wants to see the original product that works for all weather check out http://www.scrublade.com. This product has been around and on the market for over 4 years and was created by a real inventor! You can see how many stores they are in on there site.