Earn the opportunity.
AJ recalls repeated retailer approaches before AmberVision secured its opening.
THE TELEBRANDS HISTORY
An idea can change
the everyday.
And sometimes, an industry.
From a college entrepreneur’s first advertisement to household names and national retail shelves. Explore the people, turning points and practical ingenuity behind more than four decades of Telebrands.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ARCHIVE
A history you can see.
01 / THE ENTREPRENEURIAL BEGINNING
Start small.
See further.
1983—1987Telebrands began with AJ Khubani’s willingness to put an idea in front of a customer.
In 1983, while a senior at Montclair State, AJ invested $20,000 of savings in a print advertisement for a $10 radio. The ad broke even. It gave him something more lasting than an immediate windfall: firsthand experience turning a product into an offer and taking it to market.
The university’s account of the beginning ↗AmberVision: from television to the shelf.
The 1987 AmberVision sunglasses campaign became an early breakthrough. In his later Response interview, AJ recalled an initial 200-piece retail order at Herman’s Sporting Goods followed by a 20,000-piece reorder just days later. A modest opening revealed a much bigger opportunity.
That connection—show a product’s usefulness, then make it easy to find—would become central to the Telebrands story.
AJ’s published account · September 2013 ↗
02 / HELPING BUILD A RETAIL CATEGORY
A demonstration on screen.
A familiar sign in stores.
AJ’s red “As Seen on TV” mark gave shoppers a way to recognize products they had seen demonstrated. In 1990, Telebrands began advocating dedicated departments at major retailers, bringing those products together in a place customers could find.
It was a broader ambition than one successful item: connect consumer recognition, product presentation and retail distribution.
The company’s category-building history ↗A FOUNDER-REPORTED MILESTONE
200+Reported DRTV winnersDECADES OF PRODUCT DEMONSTRATIONS
The experience behind
the next breakthrough.
A clear demonstration connects a useful product with the people who need it. That skill has been central to Telebrands across decades of television campaigns.
AJ Khubani reports more than 200 Telebrands winners in direct-response television (DRTV), referring to the period monitored by JW Greensheet, the Jordan Whitney industry publication.
Explore Pocket Hose’s award-winning commercial story ↗
Original archived cover · Questex
03 / THIRTY YEARS. A COVER STORY.
A company that helped
shape its industry.
Thomas Haire’s anniversary profile traced Telebrands’ development from individual hits to product lines and a lasting retail presence. His description of the company under AJ’s leadership captured its wider impact:
“led the As Seen On TV revolution at retail.”
Thomas Haire · Response · September 2013
Read “It Was 30 Years Ago Today…” · archived article ↗The historical examples here reflect AJ’s published interview account.
THE WORK BEHIND THE BREAKTHROUGHS
Instinct.
Testing.
A team that delivers.
In a conversation set in 1995 and published in Steven Dworman’s 2004 book, $12 Billion of Inside Marketing Secrets, AJ describes the transition from writing advertisements and shipping orders himself to building an organization.
Learn from the response.
He describes using results from earlier print campaigns to inform decisions about new ones.
Build beyond one person.
His account emphasizes people, systems, distribution and delegation, and credits his brother Andy’s contribution to retail growth.
Selected paraphrases of AJ’s interview, pp. 174–195 in the supplied copy. The book was published in 2004; the conversation is set in 1995. The dollar figure belongs to the book’s title.
Book citation · SDE Pub., 2004 ↗04 / A PEDEGG RETAIL MILESTONE
An everyday solution.
An extraordinary week.
Mother’s Day sales week · Seven days ending May 13, 2008
A former buyer’s firsthand account.
Dustin Sullivan, Walgreens’ Category Manager for As Seen on TV from 2007–2010, recalls PedEgg ranking No. 1 by retail sales dollars among front-of-store, self-service merchandise for that week, excluding pharmacy.
In his recollection, it surpassed single-serve Snickers bars and 20-ounce Coca-Cola. A practical foot-care idea had become a remarkable moment on the retail shelf.
Watch AJ demonstrate PedEgg on The View ↗Source & scope
Sullivan’s firsthand recollection, shared with permission in September 2026. He recalls reviewing the weekly item-sales report; this is not an official Walgreens confirmation or an independently verified result.
Read the approved account on AJ’s website ↗05 / A STAR SHOWER HOLIDAY MILESTONE
A holiday hit.
A photograph with a story.
The week Star Shower reached No. 1.
By retail sales dollars · Walmart U.S. stores
November 21–27, 2015 · Walmart Week 43
Joe Grady, the Walmart vice president overseeing Department 82 in 2015, recalls Star Shower ranking first by retail sales dollars during the week encompassing Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Bananas ranked second.
The photograph celebrates that memorable chapter: Joe and Griffin hold Star Shower, while AJ holds a bunch of bananas.
06 / PASSING POSSIBILITY FORWARD
The next great idea
can come from anyone.
Telebrands’ history also includes the people whose ideas were still taking shape: independent inventors, student teams and entrepreneurs finding their first opportunity.
THE STORY CONTINUES
Built on experience.
Still looking ahead.
Today’s Telebrands portfolio carries that curiosity into the home, garden, personal care and everyday life.