Sunday, April 28, 2024

'Mandela Effect': Ed McMahon and Publishers Clearing House

publishers clearing house ed mcmahon commercial

“It certainly didn’t hurt us.” And as a result, the association between McMahon and Publishers Clearing House became an enduring myth. “It was the combination of the well-established company and the well-established spokesperson,” says Sloane. Entertainer Ed McMahon was never a spokesperson for the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. However, there appears to be a large number of Americans who believe that he was.

William Carey Publishing

Publishers Clearing House (PCH) is a marketing company that sells merchandise and magazine subscriptions but is best known for its sweepstakes with large cash prizes. They featured Americans being presented with large checks that could change their lives. However, the company was accused of misleading customers about the odds of really winning. In 2000, Congress responded to these concerns with the Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act to regulate direct mailing businesses. Publishers Clearing House was founded in 1953 by Harold and LuEsther Mertz and their daughter, Joyce Mertz-Gilmore. From their garage, mailings were created offering consumers an unprecedented array of discounted magazine subscription offers.

Reason #7: Appearances on Sitcoms and Late Night Shows

What's The Mandela Effect? 62 Mandela Effect Examples - BuzzFeed

What's The Mandela Effect? 62 Mandela Effect Examples.

Posted: Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

His 41st and final appearance on that show was in 2008, making him second only to Jerry Lewis himself in number.[11] McMahon and Dick Clark hosted the television series (and later special broadcasts of) TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes on NBC from 1982 to 1993. "Do you really think, AFP would fly Ed all over the country and knock on strangers' doors unannounced? Of course not, because it would be a waste of time and money," Sloane explains further. "Having done this for many years for PCH (where the surprises are totally real -- not set ups), I can tell you there are many times the winners aren't home, live in rural hard to get to areas, etc.). That's why Ed/Dick [Clark] could never do this." For those of you who don't know (or perhaps don't remember?), the Mandela Effect is a phenomenon in which large groups of people share the same collective false memory. The concept was named after Nelson Mandela when many people who thought he had died in the 1980s found out he passed away in 2013.

Rare Bird Books

In the summer of 2020 Marie Osmond became a spokesperson for Publishers Clearing House with television and online advertisements as well as direct-to-home mailings.In January 2021, Steve Harvey made his debut in television commercials as a spokesperson for PCH. In the 1980s, many people believed in the false memory of Nelson Mandela, who died in prison. It’s called “the Mandela Effect.” However, in reality, he died in 2013. I may not be old, but I'm old enough to remember when Ed McMahon and the Publishers Clearing House (PCH) Prize Patrol would show up on people's door steps to deliver them Big Checks for large cash prizes they'd won in the PCH sweepstakes.

There are commercials showing McMahon promoting a sweepstakes.

"The AFP winners were notified by phone/mail, then brought to a soundstage in the Los Angeles area where they 'met' Ed. That's how it worked. There was such confusion on Ed surprising people at their home, that in the end of his career he just went along with it." On another episode, Letterman joked that a poll was conducted about the reasons people don't enter the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes, saying, "The number one reason people don't enter that thing is they say a million dollars is not worth the nightmare of meeting Ed McMahon. AFP, who changed its name to American Family Enterprises, filed for bankruptcy in 1998. So perhaps it's not surprising that many people conflate the two in their minds, remembering the name of the company that's still around.

Writing Tips Oasis - A website dedicated to helping writers to write and publish books. When Carson moved to NBC to be host of “The Tonight Show” in October 1962, he took McMahon with him. By age 10, having made up his mind that he wanted to be a radio announcer, McMahon would practice doing commercials and creating his own radio shows using a flashlight for a microphone. As Carson’s loyal, quick-to-laugh sidekick and comic foil, McMahon had so many catchphrases he could have done a medley of them in his nightclub act.

Ed McMahon worked for a competing publishers’ company.

PCH and American Family Publishing (AFP), the magazine subscription company McMahon really did work for, were often mistaken for each other. This could explain why people became convinced McMahon worked for PCH. AFP was similar to PCH in that they relied heavily on sweepstakes promotions. In the commercials, McMahon claimed he would "personally" visit contest winners. Red Hen Press, a not-for-profit literary press in Pasadena, was started up by Kate Gale and Mark E. Cull in 1994. It publishes literary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, memoir and is dedicated to producing high quality literature, promoting literacy in schools within the locality and supporting diversity.

What are the most prominent book publishing companies?

Another Red Hen Press imprint is Boreal Books, which publishes fiction, nonfiction, poetry and books containing visual art from Alaska. If you’ve written a book with a connection to Alaska, and would like to make submission, you can email founder, Peggy Shumaker at This publishing house also prefers you send a query letter first before your proposal.

publishers clearing house ed mcmahon commercial

Reason #8: Additional References and Media

publishers clearing house ed mcmahon commercial

In between, McMahon did commercials for Budweiser beer, Alpo dog food and hundreds of other products and services. McMahon is also responsible for several major innovations during his time at PCH. He spearheaded the development of PCH Mail, which allowed members to manage their bills online, and he helped create PCH Credits, now one of the company’s main sources of revenue. McMahon also made significant contributions to PCH’s charitable work, spearheading numerous donations totaling more than $100 million.

On The Howard Stern Show in 2001, he stated that after Pearl Harbor was attacked, the college requirement remained in effect and he still had to finish his two years of college before applying for Marine Corps flight training. "According to the information that I have, the envelope I received, it seems that I may already have won some very valuable prizes," Seinfeld riffs. To be fair to me, there is plenty of "evidence" as to why the memory of Ed McMahon working for Publishers Clearing House is so firmly embedded in the memory of those of us who watched TV in the '90s. "Contrary to popular belief, Ed McMahon was never affiliated with Publishers Clearing House. He worked for a competitor, American Family Publishers, which is no longer in business." You can watch an American Family Publishers commercial from 1995 on YouTube, which features both Dick Clark and Ed McMahon. Ed McMahon worked on The Tonight Show for 30 years, from 1962 to 1992.

This interview appeared to confirm that McMahon did, in fact, deliver big checks to people's front doors. Check out our free resources if you’re feeling daunted by what comes next. Whether you’re learning how to research publishers or how to personalize a submission, we've got you covered. Julia Callahan, Sales and Marketing Director, Guy Intoci, Editorial Director, Hailie Johnson, Editorial and Design Manager, Gregory Henry, Director of Publicity and Jake Levens, Marketing and Publicity Manager. Red Bird Press publishes more than 50 books annually in print, as eBooks, audiobooks, limited editions and is dedicated to creating and publishing works of the highest quality.

Have you had a book published by one of the above book publishing houses in Los Angeles? Continue reading to learn about 9 top book publishing houses in Los Angeles. If so, there are some great book publishers in Los Angeles who not too far from where you’re sitting right now. Ed McMahon, a television pioneer who warmed “The Tonight Show” couch for nearly 30 years as Johnny Carson’s jovial sidekick and announcer, died early Tuesday. McMahon started his career as a broadcast journalist and later worked as an advertising executive before he was recruited by Publishers Clearing House to become its president in 1965. Under Ed McMahon’s Publishers Clearing House became one of the largest charities in the world and generated more than $8 billion in charitable donations during his tenure.

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