Derma Wand: Not as Funny as I Hoped

Sometimes I come across an infomercial that I think is going to be really hilarious, but then when I get a chance to view the whole program I’m disappointed to find out that it’s just not the laugh riot I hoped it would be. Take for example the Derma Wand infomercial.

Derma Wand is an electric gadget that is supposed to reduce wrinkles and blemishes by “stimulating” your skin. I know from Rejuvenique and Dr Ho that infomercials for electric-based cures are funny. I was hoping for something like the old DermalTone infomercial, where facial muscles would twitch spasmodically while sparks and smoke shot out of the device.

Alas, the infomercial turned out to be nothing like that. Most of the ad for Derma Wand is pretty dull, like a lot of the skin care infomercials. However, there are a few bits that are interesting.

In order to assuage the fears of women that using DermaWand is going to be similar to cutting a live power line and attaching it to your face, the host describes the way the Derma Wand feels on your skin like “Champaign bubbles” and “like hundreds of little fingers patting the surface of your skin.”

Strangely, they also go to great lengths to describe how the Derma Wand smells: “You can actually smell this. It’s like that fresh, after-a-rainstorm smell.”

But my favorite part occurs during what they assure us is a real-life test. They say they took out a newspaper advertisement for women who were considering face-lifts to try the DermaWand. At the end of the trial, the women could either keep the Derma Wand or take $1000 toward their plastic surgery. In a classic infomercial scene, a researcher in a white lab coat hand the ladies 10 fanned-out $100 bills. Each of the women swats his hand away in the exact same manner while uttering some really spontaneous-sounding dialog. Check it out:

For that scene, along with the “Champaign bubbles” analogy, the creators of the Derma Wand infomercial deserve an ERA award.