Montel Williams turns to infomercials

He claims he has invented a new form of television called the "Talkmercial."

But a glance at the new program talk show host Montel Williams is pushing reveals that he has become just another once-famous TV personality leveraging their fame to pitch products during a series of infomercials.

Williams insists his show goes one step farther -- talking about health and wellness issues the way he did on his syndicated Montel Williams show, but then offering the products to help make the talk a reality. If you believe that, please message me; I've got an office building in Manhattan you can buy for a song.

Anyways, haven't seen any clips of his "talkmercial" yet -- and his people say they can't provide any scheduling info on when it will appear on local TV. So here's a sample of his selling abilities in a different setting; hawking Barack Obama commemorative coins.

My how the mighty have fallen (click below to read his press release). *

[AP photo]

Direct Response Television innovator Tristar Products Inc. has teamed up with Emmy Award-winner Montel Williams to launch a brand-new television format that delivers authoritative information as well as product recommendations to help viewers cope with everyday problems.  The “talkmercial” format fuses talk show and infomercial to make it easier for viewers to make important changes in their lives.  This new series, which begins airing this month and focuses on critical health, spiritual, physical and financial issues, is called Living Well with Montel.

            Living Well with Montel represents the evolution of the Living Well Wednesdays, a popular feature of Williams’s former daytime talk show.  Throughout each half-hour and hour-long talkmercial, Montel discusses the challenges people face and provides his personal and inspiring perspective of the body, mind and spirit. With the help of recognized experts, including doctors, nutritionists, chefs, fitness gurus and other special guests the show offers advice and remedies – then goes one step further by recommending products, books and other tangible solutions that help people lead healthier and happier lives. 

“This television show format is a breakthrough in today’s search for the right balance between the infomercial and the talk show.  As a trusted and compassionate consumer advocate, Montel engages viewers and addresses their real-life issues, providing knowledge, new ideas, proven solutions, and the option to try the product risk-free.  We could not ask for a better partner,” says Keith Mirchandani, president and CEO, Tristar Products Inc.

Living Well with Montel is being taped at a new, state-of-the-art television studio at Tristar’s U.S. headquarters in Fairfield, New Jersey. There are no actors or paid participants in the studio audience. All featured products are personally selected and endorsed by Williams based on their effectiveness, quality and affordability.  Each is backed by a 60-day, full money- back guarantee.

Sample topics for Living Well with Montel include how to cook great tasting food without using saturated fats and maintaining financial stability in today’s tumultuous economy. The show aims to entertain viewers while providing effective solutions for their everyday lives.

According to Williams, “I am proud to be part of this collaboration.  We are sincere in our desire to help people lead healthy, happy lives. I know firsthand, with the health issues I’ve faced, the importance of taking care of myself physically, spiritually, financially and emotionally. So, our aim is to make a contribution to our viewers’ wellbeing in this way. “

Comments

[Andrea Clark]

Montell Williams needs to beaware that the coin collection website is 2 sites not one and they both will bill your credit card and pretend not to be affillated with each other. But you go on the website and both companies come up when you hit check status of your order..This is a warning..I am bringing charges against this site.

[graham welch]

ripped off on coins.what have you got hooked up with?

Rod, I was there "that pressure cooker day" and I am in complete agreement with your assessment...Sadly, our group was coerced into a second round of "Living Well" with an entirely new set of promises that never came to fruition. However, we DID learn that we could purchase books advising which crap is better to eat than the other crap for $19.95!

[Rod]

The comment above by Trina has the air of a plant...

I was at a taping of Living Well with Montel Williams a few weeks back, and after personally witnessing his purportedly "new and exciting" television show format I can tell you that what Montel is now producing is nothing short of a run of the mill, low budget/low quality infomercial.

It is a travesty that news sources (i.e. NY Times) have picked up his press release and publically recognized this format as anything more than the pathetic effort to sell low quality products in a totally ordinary and standard approach. The claim that these programs offer a unique combination of talk show with high quality commercials/infomercials is entirely inaccurate.

Montel's staff buses in audience members and utilizes a very ordinary infomercial approach with dishonest motivation tactics (promises of high quality food and prizes that don't materialize) all to motivate inauthentic applause and promotion for his low quality "made for Montel" products.

After tasting the food that came out of the pressure cooker he was hocking in the taping I saw, I can honestly tell you that the food was neither high quality nor was it any healthier or less expensive than the same home cooked meal prepared through other methods.

Additionally, Montel's personality leaves much to be desired; he treats his staff horribly, and has little regard for the audience. His lack of authentic concern for helping others to live well became all too clear when meals were served to the studio audience; Donuts for breakfast, cold cuts for lunch (after he preached to the audience for an hour about the dangers of sodium and nitrates from cold cuts), and soda (after he preached to the audience about the hazards of aspartame, artificial colors and flavors, and sugar).

It is clear that this program is nothing but a dishonest ploy to con trusting consumers into purchasing a product they neither need, nor will they receive any true value. In fact, after discussing the hazards of non-stick coatings in cooking materials, he immediately went on camera to tout the benefits of the non-stick coating on his pressure cooker...pathetic.

But wait...there's more...

[Trina]

I was a guest on his new show, and I have to say it will be amazing! He looks great and was sharing his healthy tips for healthy living. His intense passion for what he is sharing and doing is truly evident on and off camera. It will be worth tuning in to see for yourselves. As a mom, his information and products seem very easy to use, especially for a busy mom like myself who doesn't take a lot of time thinking about what to make for dinner and whether or not it will be healthy. I learned so much from him and his guests, that my husband and I are committed to living a healthier lifestyle for us and our children. Thank you for the opportunity to let me post this experience. Happy Holidays to all!

[Robert]

USA Today had a piece today about the US Mint and others warning coin collectors about purchasing these unofficial coins, saying they are of little value to collectors.

[DoctorDoom]

Lin,

If you were referring to my comment, let me be perfectly clear. As far as discussing his "fall," I was merely speaking in terms of his career. I don't think anyone, when speaking in terms of one's career, would disagree that moving from hosting a syndicated national talk show to hosting infomercials is a step down on the career ladder. Just as one moving from say, being a doctor to become the file clerk in the same office. Same person, lower on the career ladder.

[Lin Young]

It sounds like the guy is doing whatever he can to make a living, like most of us. And as far as the difference between hosting a daytime talk show and doing infomercials, true status isn't in what people do for a living, it is in who they are, what their character is like in their personal life. Americans have become so caught up in equating their identities to what they do for a living, their income, their home or their possessions. Those are all things that can be lost. It's who a person is inside that is important. I'm not a great Montel Williams fan or anything, but the guy has a reputation as being a decent human being and he has helped a lot of people. That is success. What he does for a living is secondary.

[DoctorDoom]

Eric,

Montel seems like a likeable guy and has an interesting history. I believe his dad was the first African American fire chief in Baltimore or something like that.

However, being the host of a daytime talk show and then doing infomercials is hardly that large of a fall.