Talk:Vince Offer

Real or Not?

I feel like an idiot, but I honestly can't tell... is Shamwow real or a joke? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.105.230.36 (talk) 16:22, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Unfortunately it is real. Sad but true 75.77.27.50 (talk) 20:05, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Go to Shamwow!

The portion under the SlapChop where it mentions the Graty seems more like a product advertisement than a relevant part of the article at hand. What does having the Graty bundled with the SlapChop have to do with Vince? That section needs cleaning up and a more relevant tie in (if any). 67.193.56.197 (talk) 17:57, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

He won best as seen on TV ad. http://www.cnbc.com/id/28873174 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chadmd23 (talk • contribs) 17:11, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

Stop Redirect

Someone must stop the redirect for Shamwow to here. It hased to be used for Shamwow! (The product has an exclamation mark) —Preceding unsigned comment added by ChuckCoke (talk • contribs) 23:50, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

I wondered the same thing, why does/must "Shamwow" redirect to this page.....? Certainly there could be a "Shamwow" or even "Shamwow!" page pointing out the truths/falacies of the product, etc? The redirect makes one believe "Vince Offer" IS the ShamWow :P When infact he's merely the spokesperson. --67.34.188.252 (talk) 16:36, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

Yeah - at the very least, a stub needs to be created that refers to this article, but not redirected! It's like Billy Mays never tried to sell one. Omnichad (talk) 15:14, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

• I thought Billy Mays sold Zorbeez, not ShamWow!. --75.33.85.249 (talk) 06:23, 23 January 2009 (UTC)
  • He did. Only Vince sold Shamwow! 99.239.22.106 (talk) 20:07, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Scout in TF2

Is this really something that should be included within the first paragraph of the article? Is it significant? Is it even true? There's no citation and it's probably just rumor. --75.128.2.80 (talk) 18:39, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

It seems somebody put that he "looks like" the scout and then somebody else changed it to the scout was infact modeled after him. I'm just going to remove it now. If you have a compelling reason to put it back, then do so and leave a note here. --75.128.2.80 (talk) 18:45, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

He looks like scout. Scout is definetly NOT modeled after him. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gufu (talk • contribs) 21:44, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

On the new Scout update, the scout's taunts have numerous Shamwow references, with one saying "If you order now, I'll throw in a second beating, absolutely free!" Proof of the quote right here. [1] 75.166.101.134 (talk) 14:09, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

The TF2 community has latched onto Vince because he does look, sound, and act much like the Scout class in that game. As stated above, Valve has even included a nod to these references in the Scout's newest voice lines. So there is an undeniable link between the two, though it is purely fan-driven. Not sure if it warrants a mention in an encyclopedic article, however. EdenMaster (talk) 21:10, 2 April 2009 (UTC)

It's really more the kind of thing that would be mentioned at Encyclopedia Dramatica or something.99.239.22.106 (talk) 20:08, 10 April 2009 (UTC)\

I do think that this deserves a small mention on the page, i mean the part about how valve has included a reference to vince because they noticed they were very similar in personality, accent and look, even have the same headset and most people who play TF2 would be familiar with vince.rathat 07:28, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Birth Date

Does anyone have a birthdate for this guy? We need that essential fact. --24.11.41.243 (talk) 04:29, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

• Birth date, Birth Place, etc etc. I guess this attritubes to no personal interviews ever being done with the guy, but still! Also, is he from New York or Jersey? Gawd, that accent! --69.119.164.208 (talk) 10:51, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

• • According to public records (an Intelius related search), an "Offer V. Shlomi" in California -- with an alias of Vince Offer -- was born on April 25th, 1964. I don't know how to cite public records for his birth name or birth date, but there you go... A49erfan (talk) 05:58, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
    • So his name's Offer Shlomi and he's 45? 24.228.54.78 (talk) 02:12, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

His name

Does anyone know if "Offer" is actually his real name? Was he born with that name? Or is it just an incredible coincidence that he became a salesman?Harksaw (talk) 18:46, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

I think his real name is Vince Shlomi. Someone in the movie has that family name too. Scientology Page —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.37.110.172 (talk) 05:11, 29 January 2009 (UTC)

The source linked to as the reference for his real name does NOT list him as being named "Offer Shlomi". The police reports clearly say "Vince Shlomi". If someone can't find a good reference for his first name being Offer, this needs to be changed back to "Vince Shlomi" again. 132.177.68.94 (talk) 00:16, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Presumably it's not pronounced like the English word "offer". In Hebrew it would be "OH-fair." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.46.167.140 (talk) 03:33, 9 September 2009 (UTC)

A few Google searches later I came across a few places to have it listed as Vince Schlomi, and also Vince Offer Schlomi. But the debate still lies, what IS his real name?! Abhinav777 (talk) 23:59, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

If you read the 1st link (nest to his name in the side panel), it leads to an interview in which the last question is about his real name. He says that his first name is actually Offer, not his last.

Why the headset?

Why does Vince wear the headset? Is Shamwow just a distraction from his gig in the fast food drive thru? And what does he mean when he announces that he is demonstrating Shamwow in "real time" ?. It sounds really important to me. 68.55.61.153 (talk) 02:23, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

I think the "real-time" comment is to allay concerns of any camera-trickery. Interestingly enough, you can see that most of the puddle beneath the carpet has disappeared when it comes time for the shamwow to perform. As for the headset...perhaps an attempt to lend credibility to the claims. –xeno (talk) 15:44, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

The headset is from his days as a flea market barker, where they'd have a speaker system set up at large booths so that groups of 100 or so can see the product demonstrated. If you watch both of the ads you can see that when they get the testemonials they're doing it at some place with a similar format. In fact in the ShamWOW! one, you can see Vince in the background during one of the clips doing his spiel. -- Grant.Alpaugh 06:31, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Protected for 1 day

I've protected the article for 24 hours so that the current content dispute can be addressed here, on the talk page. –xeno (talk) 15:01, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

WP:NOR and "nuts"

Earlier versions of the page were filled with original research as several IP editors wished to list their favorite jokes from Vince Offer commercials. I'd like to maintain the WP:NOR and WP:V rules, not to mention the problems of keeping the article encyclopedic. THF (talk) 15:03, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Is it possible to reliably source any of his "jokes"? It stands to reason that it is his style of advertising (double entendre, etc.) that makes him notable outside other infomercial pitchmen. –xeno (talk) 15:05, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

There exists one published article about Offer, published in Slate. This article already cites that article for a variety of jokes. Having done vandalism-watch on this BLP for a month now, after improving it from its original wretched state, I can assure you this article will get very bad very quickly if every anon gets to put in his favorite joke from the ad based on their original research of what they thought funniest about it. THF (talk) 15:13, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Here's another recent cite that can be added when the article is unprotected. THF (talk) 15:17, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

The "nuts" joke seems to be particularly notable, with over 50,000 hits for "you're gonna love my nuts". –xeno (talk) 15:28, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Only 548 when combined with Vince Offer, and 4700 with SlapChop. So what? It's not in a WP:RS: zero Google news hits. Best one can do is this implicit reference in this Houston Chronicle article. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/6215205.html THF (talk) 15:34, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Nice catch. can we work that in to source the joke? I agree we don't want every one of his one liners in there, but I think the "nuts" and the "germans" comment deserve mention. I think I've involved myself, so I'd better just unprotect at this point. let's try to work together rather than just rv-war. –xeno (talk) 15:40, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

here's a cite that talks about his "abrasive" nature. –xeno (talk) 15:31, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

College daily paper opinion column isn't much better than a blog, but we already have a cite for the abrasive nature from the Slate piece (which, coincidentally, uses much of the same language). THF (talk) 15:34, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

What is wrong with his face? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.45.18.142 (talk) 07:31, 15 March 2009 (UTC)

I don't see anything wrong with it. He just has a weird set of facial expressions. 24.228.54.78 (talk) 01:57, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

Shamwow, the product is a scam

http://www.infomercialratings.com/product/shamwow_reviews

Of course we can't add THAT little fact to the article. Because then he would be a scam artist. FX (talk) 05:03, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

And I'm dissatisfied with my SlapChop. But WP:NOT#CHAT. THF (talk) 05:26, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

I guess it comes down to, what source is considered valid for product reviews, and is WP going to include that information in articles. OK that is actually two different issues. Since ShamWow! doesn't have an article (and GHY if you try to start one) I pointed out the fact here, that ShamWow! is a scam, a rip off, a crap product.

While this is a fact, what source could possibly be used for that little bit of knowledge? FX (talk) 11:07, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

Google News has links to several tv news shows' testing out the ShamWow. THF (talk) 11:37, 10 February 2009 (UTC)

Gee. You're telling me that a piece of cloth sold by a rather offputting gentleman using the most obvious camera tricks in infomercial history is a Sham? Wow! 24.228.54.78 (talk) 01:50, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

I must say that was a pretty clever comment.70.109.251.128 (talk) 18:06, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Agreed, solid gold99.239.22.106 (talk) 20:10, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

If a valid, credible source for the product's effectiveness (or lack thereof) exists, it's a perfectly acceptable addition to this article. Rather than coming to the discussion section and starting a dialogue, I suggest finding the source, adding a section to the article, and referencing the source. Simple. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.4.206.66 (talk) 18:41, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Regardless of whether or not the source is valid, it has nothing to do with Vince Offer. It only applies to the product itself, not the one selling it.--213.17.64.238 (talk) 17:49, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Memedom

I believe there should be at least some mention of Vince's popularity as somewhat of an internet meme. He's constantly quoted throughout the internet (Mostly from his infomercials), and both his infomercials have spawned countless parodies and remixes on youtube. It at least seems worth a line or two in the article, since that seems to be the main thing for which he's known these days. With all due honesty, I'd probably do it myself, but I don't have a wikipedia account, and I'm not in any way familiar with wikipedia standards or formatting, so I'll leave it to you pros. 67.181.89.125 (talk) 00:32, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

I have an account, and I still have trouble making things come out right. FX (talk) 01:39, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Just because you and your friends from Home Room spend your life on YouTube, that doesn't make this ShamWow guy a meme generator. Most of the country has barely heard of him, and we don't go around quoting him. I know it might not seem that way, but if you wait a few months (a year, tops), he'll disappear into obscurity. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.4.206.66 (talk) 18:43, 11 April 2009 (UTC)

Ctrl+Alt+Delete comic

The fact that Offer has been spoofed by one of the most popular webcomics surely attributes to the subject's notability, no? Why do people keep removing it? –xeno (talk) 01:00, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

It's not notable enough for it to be put on the Wikipedia entry. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.103.137.88 (talk) 01:03, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

but Notability applies to articles, not their content. –xeno (talk) 01:04, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I would tend to agree with the IP. Ctrl+Alt+Delete isn't all that. Even as webcomics go. One could make a very good argument that it flunks WP:WEB: that article cites just a single secondary source, and the line "Buckley put out his first batch of T-shirts and made nearly $7,000 in profits" pretty much demonstrates a lack of notability. I wouldn't edit-war over it, but other editors seem to agree with me. THF (talk) 01:07, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Indeed, I seem to be in a minority. Just thought it would help to prop up the subject's notability. As so astutely pointed out above, we need to somehow capture his "Memedom" in the article. –xeno (talk) 01:10, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

I agree with THF. The webcomic itself is not particularly notable, and the reference especially so. It certainly does not deserve or warrant mention on this page, as doing so would be tantamount to adding a trivia section or the like, which seems frowned upon. Fuzzygenius (talk) 07:21, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

As the original poster of the comic, I think that it is a viable answer to the need to show his 'memedom' mentioned above. Perhaps it shouldn't be the focus of the section, but I think it is a good example, at least. More could be added. Kayru-kitsune (talk) 07:07, 23 February 2009 (UTC)

I belive that teh Ctrl-Alt-Del spoof of this should be included in the artice, this is a popular web comic, and it is an accurate parody of it.

i also knotices that the like to the Shamwow links back to the link that you clicked... Corhen (talk) 00:13, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

This really has nothing to do with CAD in general. Shamwow has become a meme, and it's been mentioned all over the place. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.239.22.106 (talk) 20:12, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Indeed, last thing we need is more Ego grooming for Tim Buckley on Wikipedia there's enough wars with him on here as it is. vince Offer has become a meme now, so if that goes in all memes go in such as Vince's striking resemblance to "The Scout" in Team fortress 2 that many people picked up on.--78.105.127.237 (talk) 01:54, 18 August 2009 (UTC)

ShamWow ABCNews Review

This section was cut, it needs to be worked into the prose (if appearing at all, no prejudice to it remaining cut. –xeno (talk) 04:35, 4 March 2009 (UTC))

ABCNews has done a realistic review of the Sham wow. "Let Daphne try it" is a consumer review of the product done in December 2008.

Vince arrested?

This link shows him that he got arrested for beating up someone. =/ I don't know if the source is true or not, so I'm putting it here. 75.166.97.83 (talk) 20:54, 27 March 2009 (UTC)

This is not a source. ^^ It is some random person's blog who happened to get a mugshot of somebody who looks like Vince Offer. The mugshot has little resemblance to Vince Offer anyways. 76.14.242.96 (talk) 02:20, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

• I'd have to disagree with you on the mugshot part, but I do think we need more info on this. Poor poor Vince, I'd say the prostitute didn't "love his nuts". Nite Owl II 18:43, 28 March 2009 (UTC) Yes, but he did "slap his troubles away!"

I think The Smoking Gun has built up a lot more credibility than "some random person's blog." Keepscases (talk) 20:25, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

I agree with you...it is a very reliable source which is frequently cited. I don't know where that "random blog" comment came from. They've even included a scanned copy of the entire complaint arrest affidavit in the article. 173.53.29.31 (talk) 23:39, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

Why Protect it?

Why is this page protected? Jgthor (talk) 02:44, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Because people kept vandalizing it. If you wish to make changes, you can wait until you are autoconfirmed or you can use the {{editsemiprotected}} template, noting the changes you wish to see made. I would unprotect it now for you, but I have a a feeling that with his recent arrest, the vandalism would be increased. –xeno (talk) 18:08, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

[[User:guywhoaddedlovemynutsreference}]The recent arrest, where Vince tries to "slap his troubles away" (a line from his SlapChop commercial), would be too tempting to add to the narrative. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.106.232.73 (talk) 16:12, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Israel

The footnote #1 that is supposed to provide documentation that he was born in Israel makes no mention of Israel.

--141.110.152.138 (talk) 19:59, 7 April 2009 (UTC)

Sure it does, but you need to page through a bit, see http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0327092sham3.html –xeno (talk) 20:13, 7 April 2009 (UTC)

Name

Unresolved

The article says "..under his real name Vince Shlomi" near the bottom, but at the top calls him "Offer Shlomi". Which is correct? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.111.146.86 (talk) 06:34, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

It's "Vince Shlomi", and what you're mentioning as showing at the top isn't there (anymore?); so presumably it was corrected or it was vandalism that was reverted. -- John Broughton (♫♫) 21:27, 13 May 2009 (UTC)

I thought it was vandalism at first too, but surprisingly it's not. His given first name is actually Offer. Here's an interview on CNBC where he clarifies the issue himself (very last line). http://www.cnbc.com/id/28880253/ The article is locked, so if a registered user wants to make the change back, that'd be fantastic :) 132.177.68.94 (talk) 00:09, 20 May 2009 (UTC)

Team Fortress 2

I noticed this page is protected and has no mention under popular culture on how people have related Vince to the Scout from Team Fortress 2. It was part of his internet fame in the first place is that he looks and acts like the Scout, and thus people have been making videos lampooning him as such.

Eh... Sign with four ~~~~. Kausill 13:51, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

Date for Reference to Penny Arcade Comic

The text in the article is: "The webcomic Penny Arcade referred to M. Night Shyamalan as M. Night Shamwow in their July 24, 2009 strip. [18]" July is next month, June is this month. :P Typo and I can't figure out how to use the template: {{editsemiprotected}} Just bringing it to someones attention who can edit it. Chrissd21 (talk) 05:00, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Done. Thanks for noting it. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 05:05, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Picture

Hey, I noticed the picture is different than it used to be, and it doesn't really look like Vince, but it could be, I dunno. thoughts? I didn't want to change it without proof that it WASN'T him... Dr. Eed (talk) 06:55, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

It is him. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 08:12, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Is there any better picture we could get? It looks like I could take that with my 8 year old digital.68.32.15.157 (talk) 06:49, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

If you can find one that is free and clear of copyright, feel free to upload it. You can't just take one from a web site or magazine, etc. It has to be free and clear of copyright to use on Wikipedia. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 07:31, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

There were only two free pictures of Offer on Flickr, one of which was of him with his face not clearly visible to the camera, and the other is the one currently being used. I can try to look for other pictures of Vince on Flickr, and ask if they would be willing to allow it to be used on the Commons, per COM:OTRS, but I'm not sure at the moment. Gage (talk) 04:09, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

They won't need to send permission to OTRS if they would be willing to just change the copyright shown on the image page to one that is acceptable for Commons. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 04:14, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Ten times out of ten, that never occurs, and is never considered. It's easier to get them to release the copyright the OTRS route. Gage (talk) 04:29, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

And I just contacted two people who have pictures of Offer. Gage (talk) 04:32, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

You really think it's easier trying to get someone to write an email and say the correct things they need to say so that OTRS will even accept it, and then send it.. than it is to just go to their photo and change the copyright? Interesting. My experience has been to send them a message on Flickr explaining to them what I want, why I want it and a detailed how-to on how they can go about changing the copyright there on Flickr. Most of the time, they do it. Since Flickr is set by default to copyright all images uploaded, most users on Flickr don't even know they can change the copyright. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 05:17, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

I've gotten every single picture, except two, on American Idol (season 8) via OTRS through Flickr. It's not like I have no idea how anything works. Gage (talk) 06:38, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

I'm not saying your way doesn't work. Only saying my way is quicker. - ALLST✰R▼^echo _{wuz here} 06:56, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Well, go ahead and try it your way if you want, and I'll keep doing it my way. Gage (talk) 07:03, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

I think you are both working towards the same result. Personally I think OTRS turns off users, but there is no reason that doubling up on efforts shouldn't be a good thing. Law _{type! snype?} 07:06, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

Done. Got a new picture to be released by its copyright owner. Gage (talk) 11:06, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Two Plus Two

I feel that it should be noted that he enjoys to hang out at BBV4L on twoplustwo.com (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/62/bbv4life/we-vote-shamwow-better-than-billy-mays-pole-itt-364867/). Billy Mays never talked to his consumers via internet forum. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.163.173.66 (talk) 15:20, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

Has this been reported in a reliable source as a particular noteworthy characteristic of Mr. Offer? Also, I'm not sure how the contrast with Billy Mays makes this fact relevant. –xeno^talk 15:22, 28 August 2009 (UTC)

ShamWow parody on iCarly

There was an episode of iCarly in Season 2 that featured a parody called the ShamPow. The episode was called iDate a Bad Boy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.250.31.56 (talk) 19:04, 29 August 2009 (UTC)

ShamWow

I really believe ShamWow is notable enough to have it's own article. Jeremjay24 12:51, 7 September 2009 (UTC)

Slap Chop: Quality of Product lacking

The Slap Chop does do what it is shown to do BUT:

Longevity of the SlapChop is short.

The Working Base is lacking in two ways:

1- the Base after only being used a handfull of times, unscrews from the unit during chopping & then the knife will destroy the knife template and your unit is useless.

2- The plastic base corrodes easily so that it is no longer transparent but opaque!!

The base of the Unit needs redesign on the above two fronts.

Are the units garanteed? Can I send the unit back for replacement?

David F. Begin —Preceding unsigned comment added by Begindavid (talk • contribs) 02:09, 13 October 2009 (UTC)