- Magic Bullet (appliance)
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The Magic Bullet is a compact blender manufactured by Homeland Housewares, a division of the American company Alchemy Worldwide, and sold in over 50 countries.[1] It is widely marketed through television advertisements and infomercials and sold in retail stores under the "As seen on TV" banner. A crippleware retail version not under this banner called the "Magic Bullet Single Shot+" is also available.
Since the introduction of the Magic Bullet, other incarnations include the Magic Bullet To Go, the Bullet Express, and the Baby Bullet.
Contents
Product
The Magic Bullet is a personal blender that is designed to be used as a space saving replacement for other appliances such as a blender, food processor, and electric juicer. The name is derived from the ogive shaped curve of the blending cups. The entire Magic Bullet system consists of an electric blender base with a number of attachments. Some of the attachments are included with the product, and they are:[2]
- one of two available screw-on blade attachments; the "cross blade" (used for chopping foods and crushing ice),
- two mixing cups, one short and one tall,
- two handled cups, called by the manufacturer "Party Mugs", which can be used to blend individual drinks (also with coloured "Comfort Rings" that screw over the threads),
- lids for the cups, intended for storing foods, and
- an instruction manual which also contains a recipe book (Magic Bullet 10 Second Recipes and Owner Manual), featuring recipes prepared in the infomercial and others.
Other add-ons can be purchased separately. These consist of:
- perforated lids for the cups that are used to ventilate items cooked in the cup when using a microwave oven, and to dispense hard foods that have been ground using the appliance,
- the other of two available screw-on blade attachments: a "flat blade" (used for chopping harder foods, as well as for whipping),
- other attachments include a full size blender pitcher and a manual juice extractor attachment.
Usage
The appliance is used by attaching a blade attachment to the desired cup and fitting the assembly upside down on top of the base. The base contains the motor that turns the blade, which is inside the cup. When one applies pressure to the top of the unit, the blade spins. If one turns the cup to lock into the base, it will continue to spin until it is disengaged.
Infomercial
The Magic Bullet is known for its 30-minute infomercial, broadcast mostly in the early hours of the morning.
Plot
The presentation is couched as get-together in Mick and Mimi's kitchen. It's the morning after a huge barbecue thrown by Mick and Mimi, and their friends begin to pile into the kitchen and express interest in the Magic Bullet. As a result, the get-together develops into a Tupperware-style presentation of the product. By the end of the presentation, the group of friends decide that the Magic Bullet is so useful that they, too, need one in their homes.
- Mick
- Host. He is English; loves party drinks and curry powder (he loves garlic in the Magic Bullet to Go infomercial). Played by Mick Hastie.
- Mimi
- Hostess. Though not explicitly mentioned in the infomercial, she is presented as Mick's wife (the two are not involved in real life). She loves mangos, raspberries, and milkshakes made with chocolate bars and peppermint candies. She playfully mocks Mick's love of curry powder when they make chicken salad. Played by Mimi Umidon.[3]
- Berman
- Caustic, overweight, balding man. The "party animal" of the bunch, he shows up in the kitchen with a hangover (the result of the previous night's barbecue), for which Mick and Mimi both tease him. Hates broccoli.
- Hazel
- Older woman with a raspy "smoker's voice", glasses and unkempt hair. She is dressed in a bathrobe and has a partially-smoked, unlit cigarette in her mouth which appears and disappears at random times during the broadcast. Hates chopping garlic. (Note: In the Australian broadcast of this advertisement, she is highly edited. Only showing parts where she is not smoking (see: List of smoking bans in Australia). Only seen saying "Chopping Garlic"). In the Magic Bullet to Go infomercial, it is implied that Hazel and Berman spent the night together when Hazel gets out of Berman's tent and thanks him for the socks he lent her. Everyone throws a "eeeewwww..." when they discover what happened.
- Tina
- Younger woman similar in appearance to Mimi whose main purpose is to provide over-the-top exclamations, grunts, and surprised facial expressions.
- Wilma
- Black haired, fortyish. Her kids won't eat vegetables. Is amazed how fast it is to make 2 minute pasta dishes saying that it takes her 2 minutes or longer to make a phone call to order a pizza.
- Ike
- Tina's husband, who enjoys fluffy omelets.
- Barney
- A man who likes protein shakes and is happy.
- Betty
- Wife of Barney.
Some of these names are from The Flintstones: Wilma Flintstone, Barney and Betty Rubble. Also Tina and Ike could refer to Tina Turner's relationship with Ike Turner.
History
The design for the Magic Bullet and its attachments is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to Mr Lenny Sands, CEO and founding partner of Alchemy Worldwide.[1]
Homeland Housewares has introduced addons and different versions of the Magic Bullet including the Bullet2Go (with various accessories), the Bullet Express, and a Fat Burning Boost supplement to be used in conjunction with the Magic Bullet.
Copyright infringement
The Magic Bullet has been replicated and imitated on more than one occasion.[4] Homeland Housewares, LLC, is a member of eBay’s Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program[5] and has created a Consumer Counterfeit Watch web page in order to help educate consumers regarding these issues.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Alchemy Worldwide LLC CEO and Direct Response TV Veteran Lenny Sands Appointed by President George W. Bush to President's Export Council", TheFreeLibrary.com (February 12, 2007)
- ^ What you get…
- ^ Mimi Umidon at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "About Potentially Hazardous Counterfeit Blenders", press release (August 28, 2007)
- ^ "Most of the purported 'Magic Bullet' Blender/Mixer Systems, parts and packaging available on eBay are counterfeit."
- ^ Consumer Counterfeit Watch
External links
Categories:- Kitchenware brands
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