Arthur Schiff (1 May 1940 – 24 August 2006) was one of the least known but most influential promoters of American

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

products. Schiff ran his own company and ingenious marketing campaigns for 23 years. During his long career in advertising, he produced over 1800 direct response TV

infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...

s, including the Steakhouse Onion Machine, Ambervision

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and the Shiwala car mop. One of the most famous products worked on by Schiff is the line of

Ginsu Ginsu (; pseudoword meant to evoke the idea of samurai heritage) is a brand of direct marketed knives. The brand is owned by the Douglas Quikut Division of Scott Fetzer, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. The brand was heavily promoted in the late 19 ...

knives A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

, during his three-year term of employment as Creative Director at legendary direct marketing firm Dial Media, founded By

Ed Valenti Ed Valenti is an American Television personality, advertising pioneer, and entrepreneur. In the 1970s he founded Dial Media, which created numerous techniques that transformed infomercials on television in the United States and beyond. His techn ...

and Barry Becher in 1975, in

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately south of downtown Pr ...

. Schiff's commercials gained a degree of notoriety for their effective use of

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s, including his signature creation ''"But wait, there's more!"'' He also coined several other widely used and often parodied phrases used in infomercials today, including ''"Isn't that amazing?" "Isn't that a Clever

Cleaver A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed tomahawk. It is largely used as a kitchen knife, kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slas ...

!"'' and ''"Act now and you'll also receive ... "'' The history of the Ginsu product line can be traced back to 1978, when Schiff's employer Edward Valenti was looking for the best way to market a line of "ordinary" kitchen knives with the rather dull brand name "Quikut". Working as part of a creative team that included Valenti and Becher, Schiff rebranded this product as Ginsu. Schiff recalled some years later, "I went to sleep that night, still wrestling with the problem," he wrote, in typically fervid style. "And then it happened! I bolted out of bed at three o'clock in the morning and yelled, 'Eureka! I've got it. Ginsu!' I wrote the bizarre word down on a piece of paper and went back to sleep. When I got up again four hours later, the paper was still there and that strange word was still on it. I stuffed it into my shirt pocket and headed off to work." The combination of Schiff's unusual

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

sounding name for the knives with

product demonstration In marketing, a product demonstration (or ''"demo"'' for short) is a promotion where a product is demonstrated to potential customers. The goal is to introduce customers to the product in hopes of getting them to purchase that item. Products offe ...

s and copy lines previously developed by Valenti and Becher, many of which had been used to sell their first three multi-million selling products (Miracle Painter, Miracle Duster and Miracle Slicer) on TV prior to Schiff's employment, seemed to launch Ginsu to an even higher level of success and consumer retention. Much like the

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

brand

Häagen-Dazs Häagen-Dazs ( , ) is an American ice cream brand, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in the Bronx, New York, in 1960, owned by Froneri, a joint venture between Nestlé and PAI Partners. Starting with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolat ...

, the Ginsu name was nonsense, but nevertheless extremely effective in associating the product image as a "

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

sword" for the kitchen. The partners (Valenti and Becher) hired a local Japanese

exchange student A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or higher education study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, bu ...

to appear as a chef. The most famous Ginsu television advertisement began with a hand

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

-chopping a two-by-four board. According to the opening copy co-written by Valenti and Schiff, "In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the hand can be used like a knife. But this method doesn't work with a

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

" (cut to Valenti's hand karate chopping...and squashing...a tomato). Schiff died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

Coral Springs, Florida Coral Springs is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 134,394. Approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale, it is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area in South ...

in 2006.

References

* "He Sliced and Diced His Way into Popular Culture," by Paul Fahri.
"The Washington Post"
4 September 2006.

* "The Wisdom Of Ginsu, Carve Yourself a Piece of the American Dream" 2005 Career Press

a writer's appreciation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiff, Arthur 1940 births 2006 deaths Direct marketing Deaths from lung cancer People from Coral Springs, Florida

See also

References