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Infomercial Personality
The Resume
(1961- )
Born in Mankato, Minnesota
Michael J. Lindell
Founder of My Pillow USA Inc. (2004)
Invented and patented the MyPillow product, having created its open-cell, poly-foam pillow design
Boosted sales dramatically by shooting and starring in a 30-minute television Infomercial, which first aired in October 2011
Has since sold more than 10 million pillows; company has grown from 50 employees to over 600
Funds the Lindell Foundation, which assists addicts, veterans, cancer patients and My Pillow employees, with the proceeds from My Pillow sales
Why he might be annoying
He looks and sounds like Martin Mull.
Internet users googling him generally opt for the phrase 'My Pillow Guy.'
He markets himself as a ‘Sleep Expert,’ despite having no board certification or special training in sleep medicine.
He struggled to make sales until he started filming a series of cheesy infomercials showing him coddling his pillow like a teddy bear.
'For the best night sleep/in the whole wide world/visit Mypillow.com!' (Did we mention they're machine washable and dryable? Annoying as hell...)
His ads claim that his product is the ‘official pillow’ for the National Sleep Foundation, but fail to include disclaimers pointing out his financial ties to the organization.
He settled out of court for $1 million, in 2016, after the Alameda County Superior Court challenged his claims that ‘My Pillow’ could help treat insomnia, sleep apnea, and fibromyalgia (with no scientific evidence to this up).
He showed up at both the Republican National Convention and the third/final Presidential Debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to offer his support, endorsement, and 'all my credibility' to Trump (he also attended Trump's Election Night victory party).
His commercial has been widely parodied and mocked ('I personally guarantee that this will be the most comfortable pillow you’ll ever own!')
His company received overwhelmingly negative reviews on the Better Business Bureau's website, which (as of 2016) has received 220 complaints about their business practices.
Why he might not be annoying
He started out on the state fair/trade show circuit.
He struggled with a crack cocaine addiction from throughout his twenties and into his early thirties.
By 2008, his dependence had gotten to be so bad that his own drug dealers banded together to stage an intervention to get him to quit (which he did - one year later).
He said: 'I asked God to take away my desire to do drugs. I said, ‘Take it away, and I’m all yours.’
While not a professional sleep expert, he did spend time doing extensive research on pillows and sleep disorders, as well as experimenting with different fillers and fabrics.
He mortgaged his home and sold the chain of local taverns he owned to finance the creation of My Pillow.
When he ran the business out of his home, he hand-sewed the pillows personally, handling all the sales/distribution with help from his family.
He was awarded QVC's Q-Star Award for Product Concept of the Year, in 2013.
He has donated as many as 1,000 pillows to The Salvation Army, various Wounded Warrior Project chapters, and to the Sandra J. Schulze American Cancer Society Hope Lodge facilities.
His infomercial continues to run for an average of 200 times per day on local and national networks.
He organized the World’s Largest Pillow Fight; with 6,261 people using MyPillows to break the Guinness World Record at a St. Paul Saints game at CHS Field (2015).
Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair
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Year In Review:
For 2021, as of last week, Out of 236 Votes: 32.20% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 200 Votes: 49.00% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 23 Votes: 65.22% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 25 Votes: 56.00% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 25 Votes: 48.00% Annoying
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