When my husband first moved to the U.S. and we got married, one of our first family inside jokes involved poking fun at direct response TV. When one of these spots aired, we’d each take a guess on the final cost (“just $19.99” or “the low low price of $29.95”) and predict the moment when the full product line had actually been laid out — when there were no “but wait, there’s more…” lines left to say. These DR techniques are an integral part of American popular culture.
The WSJ today has an obituary for Arthur Schiff (reg req), the DR genius who came up with the “but wait, there’s more…” technique and marketed the legendary Ginzu knife set. (“In Japan, the hand can be used like a knife. But this method doesn’t work with a tomato.”)
Schiff died a couple of weeks ago from lung cancer in Florida. (The SF Chronicle obit.)