View source for As seen on TV

{{Short description|Product seal}}
{{other uses|As seen on TV (disambiguation)}}
[[File:As seen on TV.svg|thumb|A typical logo]]
"'''As seen on TV'''" is a generic phrase for products advertised on television in the [[United States]] for direct-response mail-order through a [[toll-free telephone number]]. ''As Seen on TV'' advertisements, known as [[infomercial]]s, are usually 30-minute shows or two-minute spots during commercial breaks. These products can range from kitchen, household, automotive, cleaning, health, beauty, and pet care products, to exercise and fitness products, books, or to toys and games for children. Typically the packaging for these items includes a red seal in the shape of a [[CRT television]] screen with the words "AS SEEN ON TV" in white.

Prominent marketers of ''As seen on TV'' products include As Seen on TV, Inc., [[Time-Life]], Space Bag, [[K-tel]], [[Ronco]], and Thane. There are also retail [[brick-and-mortar]] and online stores that specifically sell ''As seen on TV'' products.<ref name=ASOTV>{{cite book |author=Lou Harry, Sam Stall |title=As Seen on TV: 50 Amazing Products and the Commercials That Made Them Famous |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781931686099 |url-access=registration |quote=as seen on tv. |year=2002 |publisher=Quirk Books |isbn=1-931686-09-2}}</ref>

In 1996, "As seen on TV" then moved on to retail, according to [[A. J. Khubani]], CEO of [[Telebrands]], who designed the logo.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pitch Perfect |url=http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/01/01/05|work=[[On The Media]] |date=January 1, 2010 |accessdate=2010-01-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109131420/http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/01/01/05 |archivedate=2010-01-09 }}</ref>

''As seen on TV'' products then moved on to sell on the internet. In 2015, a new ''As seen on TV'' corporation was formed and launched as a multi-vendor marketplace, allowing manufacturers and sellers of TV products to sell their inventory through its website New Easy.

The red logo and phrase is in the [[public domain]] and can be used on packaging or in business with no fee and without trademark infringement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ad Track: Marketers bet on lucky 777; that's July 7, 2007 |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2007-05-29-ad-track-lucky_N.htm |access-date=27 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070531224449/https://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2007-05-29-ad-track-lucky_N.htm |archive-date=2007-05-31 |quote=Q: Does someone own the famous ad phrase "As Seen On TV" or the familiar logo that has that phrase in a TV-shaped red box?}}</ref>

Companies that produce generic versions of ''As seen on TV'' products may use a modified version of the red logo, their version displaying "Like on TV" or "As seen on TV in some countries". This logo can be registered in some countries like a trademark. {{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

== See also ==
* [[Brand-new]]
* [[Infomercial]]

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== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:As Seen On Tv}}
[[Category:American inventions]]
[[Category:American television commercials]]
[[Category:Marketing companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Television advertising]]
[[Category:Television terminology]]