In 1978, the world was introduced not only to Ginsu brand cutlery, but a new way of television marketing. Ed Valenti and Barry Becher, founders of Rhode Island based direct marketing agency Dial Media, discovered a knife set made in Fremont, Ohio by the Douglas Quikut Division of the Scott Fetzer Company. The “Eversharp” needed a more appealing name to help it gain attention in mainstream media. The “Eversharp” received a name change, now being branded as the Japanese sounding “Ginsu”.
\
Ginsu became a household name from these infomercials, with the commercials becoming a staple in the history of marketing stratagies. Using phrases such as “CALL NOW” and “SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED” created a since of urgency, which aided in selling 2-3 million knife sets within 6 years and they are still selling their knives today. (Ginsu)