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I didn't know who George Foreman was a little kid, so I saw him in the commercials for the George Foreman Grill and assumed that he was the inventor. I was ver

I didn't know who George Foreman was a little kid, so I saw him in the commercials for the George Foreman Grill and assumed that he was the inventor. I was very confused when I, at age 11, read a comic published in 1990 (I think) and saw an advertisement for (I think) a boxing video game with George Foreman on the cover. I thought "huh, I wonder if he's related to the guy who invented that grill on TV". I asked my mom and she laughed, and that day I truly learned about celebrity endorsements.

bdangubic 2y ago
I can live 50 lifetimes and it wouldn’t be enough to understand celebrity endorsements… Foreman was one of my favorite athletes growing up but unless he was the greatest chef on earth I wouldn’t touch his grill with a wooden stick
- tombert 2y ago
  I actually had one for a couple years when I lived alone in a fairly small apartment. I really liked it; it cooked hamburgers well enough and it was super cheap, like $15-20 when I bought it during a sale. Obviously a full-sized grill would have been better, but I didn't really have that as an option in my apartment. It was easy to clean, cooked stuff relatively quickly, and neatly fit right next to my toaster. I think it's a good product for what it is. Why they got a retired boxer to promote it, I have no idea.
  - MrMcCall 2y ago
    He was an affable and funny man, who also happened to be a boxing great. What made him so affable was his deep humanity and kindness. And the endorsement worked, for sure!
    - tombert 2y ago
      Oh no question, I saw him in interviews years later and he seemed like a pretty decent dude. He also made fun of himself on King of the Hill, which always has my eternal respect. And the endorsement definitely worked. It's possible that the grill might have still been successful without his branding, but we don't know that what-if, we just know that the grills that had his branding definitely were successful.
  - mc32 2y ago
    He’s an everyday man grilling in the backyard with his kids and buddies. To the day he died, He had a very clean image, so no baggage and a whole lot of goodwill. What more do you want from a pitchman?
- silisili 2y ago
  I get that re: celebrity endorsements, I've never understood why someone would buy a product just because a celebrity is in the commercials. Now, that out of the way, the Foreman Grill was/is? a nifty little product that actually worked really well. I was gifted one, and despite having a really nice grill and big yard, sometimes I just want to be quick and lazy and bang something out.
  - tomjakubowski 2y ago
    Then there are the celebrities who are famous entirely for hawking products on TV: Billy Mays and Vince Offer (aka "the shamwow guy", aka "the slap chop guy")
  - ocdtrekkie 2y ago
    I mean I am sure the endorsement gave it a recognized name, but people forget it was basically the Instant Pot if its day. You could buy George Foreman grill cookbooks in stores. It very much became its own thing, to the point many people know of George Foreman because of the grill he endorsed.
- spike021 2y ago
  as another comment said, it makes for a decent indoors apartment grill. i used to use one all the time to make hamburgers or grilled cheese in college.
- borgdefenser 2y ago
  I always thought the same until I got one. It is a really good product. It especially stands out if on a diet and going to eat a lot of chicken breast. Steak I wouldn't cook in it but it makes great chicken. Especially on a diet that you aren't going to add much else calorie wise with how you cook it.
- adabyron 2y ago
  The goal of the endorsement is to catch your attention through entertainment. Then you need something to trigger them to say yes, I want that. Aside - many people want something easy for them to use, which this thing was. Julia Child's success is a great lesson of a very good chef making it simple & showing mistakes.
- Clubber 2y ago
  I had one in college in the 90s that still works to this day.
  - wileydragonfly 2y ago
    Smoking up the dorms and tripping breakers…
brudgers 2y ago
Recommended George Foreman movie, When we were Kings. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_Were_Kings https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_Were_Kings
zem 2y ago
I only just discovered that he didn't invent or at least own the company that made the grill. Not being American, I had no real idea who he was outside of it.

bdangubic 2y ago

I can live 50 lifetimes and it wouldn’t be enough to understand celebrity endorsements… Foreman was one of my favorite athletes growing up but unless he was the greatest chef on earth I wouldn’t touch his grill with a wooden stick

tombert 2y ago
I actually had one for a couple years when I lived alone in a fairly small apartment. I really liked it; it cooked hamburgers well enough and it was super cheap, like $15-20 when I bought it during a sale. Obviously a full-sized grill would have been better, but I didn't really have that as an option in my apartment. It was easy to clean, cooked stuff relatively quickly, and neatly fit right next to my toaster. I think it's a good product for what it is. Why they got a retired boxer to promote it, I have no idea.
- MrMcCall 2y ago
  He was an affable and funny man, who also happened to be a boxing great. What made him so affable was his deep humanity and kindness. And the endorsement worked, for sure!
  - tombert 2y ago
    Oh no question, I saw him in interviews years later and he seemed like a pretty decent dude. He also made fun of himself on King of the Hill, which always has my eternal respect. And the endorsement definitely worked. It's possible that the grill might have still been successful without his branding, but we don't know that what-if, we just know that the grills that had his branding definitely were successful.
- mc32 2y ago
  He’s an everyday man grilling in the backyard with his kids and buddies. To the day he died, He had a very clean image, so no baggage and a whole lot of goodwill. What more do you want from a pitchman?
silisili 2y ago
I get that re: celebrity endorsements, I've never understood why someone would buy a product just because a celebrity is in the commercials. Now, that out of the way, the Foreman Grill was/is? a nifty little product that actually worked really well. I was gifted one, and despite having a really nice grill and big yard, sometimes I just want to be quick and lazy and bang something out.
- tomjakubowski 2y ago
  Then there are the celebrities who are famous entirely for hawking products on TV: Billy Mays and Vince Offer (aka "the shamwow guy", aka "the slap chop guy")
- ocdtrekkie 2y ago
  I mean I am sure the endorsement gave it a recognized name, but people forget it was basically the Instant Pot if its day. You could buy George Foreman grill cookbooks in stores. It very much became its own thing, to the point many people know of George Foreman because of the grill he endorsed.
spike021 2y ago
as another comment said, it makes for a decent indoors apartment grill. i used to use one all the time to make hamburgers or grilled cheese in college.
borgdefenser 2y ago
I always thought the same until I got one. It is a really good product. It especially stands out if on a diet and going to eat a lot of chicken breast. Steak I wouldn't cook in it but it makes great chicken. Especially on a diet that you aren't going to add much else calorie wise with how you cook it.
adabyron 2y ago
The goal of the endorsement is to catch your attention through entertainment. Then you need something to trigger them to say yes, I want that. Aside - many people want something easy for them to use, which this thing was. Julia Child's success is a great lesson of a very good chef making it simple & showing mistakes.
Clubber 2y ago
I had one in college in the 90s that still works to this day.
- wileydragonfly 2y ago
  Smoking up the dorms and tripping breakers…

brudgers 2y ago

Recommended George Foreman movie, When we were Kings. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_Were_Kings https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_Were_Kings

zem 2y ago

I only just discovered that he didn't invent or at least own the company that made the grill. Not being American, I had no real idea who he was outside of it.