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Infomercials are addictive.

Because of my insomniac tendencies, I tend to watch infomercials late at night. I’ll stay up until 3 a.m. staring at infomercials and writing down the toll free number at the bottom of the screen.

I cannot stand the temptations of ‘As Seen on TV’ products. The first time I walked into a Bed, Bath and Beyond, I was awestruck with the ‘As Seen on TV’ sections throughout the store. I wanted to buy everything.

But more than the mere purchase of the product, there is still something enticing about the actual commercial. Maybe it’s the seemingly magical demonstrations or the hopeful testimonials. I’m not sure what it is, but I always wanted a Kitchen Ninja System or a Micro S’mores maker because those gadgets make it easier to chop my own vegetables or make my own s’mores. It is just so much more convenient to have a machine do it for you.

This phenomenon that is taking over my life is not recent. Years ago, while I was at a Girl Scout camp/convention thing, I silenced everyone in my hotel room and forced them to watch a Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter infomercial. My friends taunt me of that incident, but I still defend my love of it.

Even the Saturday Night Live sketches I seem to enjoy the most are infomercial spoofs. They show the insignificance of the ‘celebrity status’ of the host, such as the second runner up of Miss Indiana. They crack me up because of how often I watch infomercials and how similarly the spoof portrays a product.

I actually relate to those infomercials as well as their spoofs counterparts. Despite how frustrating my urge to buy “As Seen on TV’ products is, I do love infomercials, and this guilty pleasure will probably never cease.

By Jude El-Buri