Up, Up and a Weigh Presents a Fake Evil, Greedy, Corporate Executive Bastard Getting Rich Off Your Baggage Fees
July 26th, 2011 by Paul Lucas
The infomercial for Up, Up and a Weigh, a device for weighing luggage, tries to pass itself off (at least in the beginning) as some sort of a news report on the burning issue of rapidly rising airline baggage fees:
You just have to love the “interview” of the fake airline executive. With his shifty eyes, self-satisfied smirk, and a Clintonian thumbs up, this exemplar of conspiratorial corporate greed admits to whoever is supposed to be interviewing him, “Because airfare has become so competitive, we had to find new ways to generate revenue. Overweight luggage is a great way, and most people don’t think about it until it’s too late.” The only thing left out is the part when the man rubs his hands together and lets out a maniacal “BWAHAHAHA” laugh.
The next version of the Up, Up and a Weigh infomercial will show this same airline executive lounging on his yacht with his 20-year-old trophy wife and lighting a Cuban cigar with a $100 bill in order to better impress upon the viewers the kind of luxury lifestyle that excessive baggage fees have paid for.
If this becomes a trend we may see start seeing infomercials featuring phony exposés of fake executives representing the likes of “Big Oil,” “Big Pharma,” “Big Auto,” “Big Banks” and other “big” corporate meanies.
In a more conventional infomercial marketing tactic, the Up, Up and a Weight ad gives us black-and-white video of a man huffing, puffing, and wiping his brow during an attempt to weigh luggage on a bathroom scale.
Interesting that they’re marketing this item, which could be used to weigh many things, specifically for baggage. “People who would like to weigh things including but not limited to luggage” are a much bigger market than “people who can’t tell if their luggage is too heavy.”
Comment by Julie — July 27th, 2011 at 10:22 am
I totally love how that family just happened to be there at the airport.
Comment by Fräulein — July 27th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
I particularly like that they provide no solutions for what happens when you use this product to weigh your luggage AND discover it is over the standard weight… Assuming you’re flying back home and realize you have too much. What next? Mail it to yourself? Throw away your new purchases? Thanks for letting me know I’m SOL, Up, Up and a Weigh”!
Comment by Monica Hamburg - Your Dose oF Lunacy — July 30th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
The actor playing the greedy airline exec looks familiar, but I’m not sure where I’ve seen him before.
Comment by Julie — July 31st, 2011 at 1:17 pm
There is no such thing as the “US Bureau of Transportation.” There is, however, a Bureau of Transportation Statistics, part of the US Department of Transportation.
Comment by Eric — August 5th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
To me, the “executive” looks like Mike Mayock of the NFL Network. A younger, slimmer, more sinister version.
Comment by Jordan — January 9th, 2012 at 1:07 am