Bubblegum Culture

The very first time I saw a commercial for the Sham Wow, I was struck by the product’s boisterous pitchman. Unlike Progressive Flo, Sham Wow Vince did not have that indescribable appeal that made me long for more. In fact, he reminds me a great deal of a douchey ex-boyfriend. Nevertheless, I wondered who this guy was. So, I decided to put on my internet detective cap and find out.

Lucky for me, Seth Stevenson over at Slate wondered this same thing and did the grunt work for me: Sham Wow Vince is Vince Offer, a sometime comedian and filmmaker who has a penchant for litigation:

“Offer’s history includes lawsuits waged against the Farrelly brothers, Anna Nicole Smith and the Church of Scientology. He also wrote and directed the 1999 film The Underground Comedy Movie. The New York Post review gave the film zero stars, said it ‘may be the least amusing comedy ever made,’ and asked, ‘How can the War Crimes Tribunal indict Slobodan Milosevic but let Vince Offer still walk the streets?’”

Very interesting. The article also links to this press release, which details Offer’s suit against the Church of Scientology. It also reveals the cast of his movie: Michael Clarke Duncan, Slash, Gena Lee Nolin and Joey Buttafuoco. Yeah.

So, Sham Wow Vince is more than just a rag shiller–he’s a renaissance man. But honestly, I think this is how we’ll remember him best:

P.S. My sister bought our Dad Sham Wows for his birthday this year (he wanted them!). So, I plan on testing them out when I go home for the holidays. Stay tuned for a full product review.