Vitamix Announces "Pitch Me!" Video Contest Winners

OLMSTED FALLS, OH- Credited with creating the very first infomercial in the U.S., Vitamix, the world leader in high-performance blending equipment, today announces the winners of Pitch Me!", the company's national video competition to discover the next great Vitamix demonstration star. The Grand Prize winner, voted on by the public and chosen by Vitamix, is Heather Thiel of Berkeley, CA. Vitamix awarded Heather the Grand Prize of $10,000 for best overall video in Vitamix's Pitch Me!" contest.

"Pitch Me!" participants showcased their skills with a Vitamix blender and were judged on their video's creativity, popularity and overall quality. Out of almost 150 videos, Heather won with her video demonstrating how the Vitamix can whip up cashew cream. As the winner, Heather may star in upcoming Vitamix television commercials and web-based videos.

Runners up included Cambria Anderson, Melissa Washburn and MaryKate Anderson, three sisters from Orem, Utah, who won the "People's Choice Award" and received a prize of $5,000 for their video submission. Brooke McLay of Colorado Springs, Colorado, won the "Best Gourmet " prize for her gourmet recipe video and also received $5,000.

"We have so many loyal fans who are passionate about Vitamix products and about healthy living," says Dan Kleps, senior manager at Vitamix. "Pitch Me!" was a great way for us to tap this well of enthusiasm and find creative people to reinterpret the Vitamix demonstration in their own way."

In 1949, Vitamix created the world's first television infomercial during which Vitamix founder William G. "Papa" Barnard began America's love affair with the infomercial. A commitment to personal demonstration continues to guide Vitamix's marketing efforts to the present day; Vitamix demonstrates its professional-quality machines in over 2,000 county fairs and shows every year in the U.S. alone.

The newest Vitamix machines certainly lend themselves to demonstration since they do the work of 10 kitchen appliances and perform over 50 different processes without any separate attachments. These include five that no other single kitchen appliance can execute as flawlessly: making ice cream, grinding grains to make flour, kneading dough, making whole food juice, even making piping hot soups heated by nothing more than the blades spinning at 240 MPH.