Successful Campaigns: George Foreman Grill

Cesari Direct Launches the Original George Foreman Grill Infomercial!

In 1996, Cesari Direct teamed up again with Salton, Inc. (See our Juiceman Juicer Case Study) to market the launch of their "taco-maker."  Salton changed the product concept to a "grilling machine" to generate more mass appeal.  Salton, Inc. had boxing legend, George Foreman engaged as their spokesperson and product endorser adding serious "punch" to the campaign..The George Foreman Grill was born. The George Foreman Grill was positioned for success especially being unique in the housewares product category with no other competition from other product manufacturers.  Salton, Inc. was excited to apply the same DRTV brand-building strategies to the George Foreman Grill that made the  Juiceman Juicer campaign successful.

Cesari Direct produced a long form infomercial with George Foreman and Nancy Nelson as co-hosts.  The George Foreman Grill was initially offered at an introductory price of $89.  The show focused on two main product demonstrations:  1) How the product would remove excess fat from food while cooking, and 2) How quickly it cooked the food because it was grilling on both sides.  The original show incorporated several reels of footage of George Foreman boxing.  After the original media test came back at break-even, the show and offer were refined.  The boxing footage was removed from the show and the offer was changed to $59.97 (3 payments of $19.99).  When the show re-tested, it was a smash success! 

The George Foreman Grill DRTV campaign proved to be one of the most successful long form infomercials of all time.  With each subsequent show (8 in total), most commonly introducing a larger grilling unit at a higher price point, direct and retail sales skyrocketed.  Salton Inc.'s sales climbed from $50M to more than $800M due in part to their DRTV campaigns!