ERA Moxie Awards Honor the Best Infomercials of 2011

In September, the annual Moxie Awards for best infomercials were handed out by the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) at a ceremony in Las Vegas.

This year they handed out a whopping 36 different awards, yet the event still induced claustrophobia. Infomercials for Proactiv Solutions from Guthy Renker won a total of 4 awards and 6 nominations. In one category (Best Short Form, Beauty) two different Proactiv Solution commercials were nominated. This year’s trophies can be added to those from all the other years when Proactiv won multiple awards. (Read about previous ERA Awards: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006)

So without further ado, let us look at some of the Moxie Awards that were not won by Proactiv Solution:

Best Celebrity Presenter

And the nominees are…

Alyssa Milano for Wen Hair Care

Elisabeth Hasslebeck for Ab Glider

Valerie Berntinelli for Meaningful Beauty

And the winner is…Alyssa Milano for Wen Hair Care

Alyssa Milano was not available to personally receive the award. When she was asked to attend the Moxie Awards, her reaction was probably something like this. So instead Wen creator Chaz Dean accepted it on her behalf. Chaz really had nothing better to do…now that crazy homeless woman isn’t pooping in his yard anymore.

Best Male Presenter

And the nominees are…

Anthony Sullivan for H2O Mop X5

Chaz Dean for Wen

Chris Jacobs for Save with CarMD

And the winner is…Chris Jacobs.

Huh?

Best Female Presenter

And the nominees are…

Erica Shaffer for Ninja Kitchen System 1100

Rhonda Shear for Ahh Bra

And the winner is…Rhonda Shear.

Rhonda Shear? Seriously? Will future infomercial hosts now be inspired to toss away their scripts and just crack jokes?

Rhonda Shear was not on hand to personally accept the award…or insult anyone’s boobs.

So what was the best infomercial of 2011? That’s not easy to answer because there were four different main awards: “Best Long Form of the Year – Under $250K,” “Best Long Form of the Year – Over $250K,” “Best Short Form of the Year – Under $50K,” “Best Short Form of the Year – Over $50K.” These were won by CarMD, Wen Hair Care, Pajama Jeans, and Rip:60, respectively.

So It was a bittersweet night for Chaz Dean, who was snubbed for the second year in a row in the “Best Male Presenter” category but whose Wen infomercial won the top prize.

You can read the full list of award winners at the official website.

And you can watch video of the entire ERA Moxie Awards ceremony (yes, the whole plodding hour-and-a-half of it):

The awards were handed out by five pairs of DRTV industry execs partnered with “celebrity” presenters. The “celebrities” were mostly just infomercial hosts: Taylor Baldwin (Hot Booties), Andi Barness (Butterball Indoor Turkey Fryer), Forbes Riley (Aromatrim), and Darla Haun (Tony Little Gazelle, Flavorwave Oven). One presenter, however, was an actress who has appeared on a major network primetime TV series…Erin Murphy. Don’t recognize the name? She played young Tabitha Stevens on Bewtiched, a TV show that stopped production 40 years ago.

In the midst of the incredible dullness of the Moxie Awards presentation was this moment when Forbes Riley forced a man’s hands onto her breasts!

Ahhhhh, indeed!

Once again I was forced to boycott this year’s Moxie Awards gala in protest that neither Kevin Trudeau nor his magic genie were nominated in any category. How sad for ERA to cave in to pressure from the Illuminati, Skull & Bones, and Secret Brotherhood of Telepathic Martians. It’s an outrage I tell you! An outrage!