American Inventor

Reality game shows are all the rage but not too many can claim to have a positive impact on society. American Inventor is an exception and has proved to be popular with the audience and the world of business. The first season began in March 2006 on the ABC network and is co-produced by Simon Cowell and the team behind American Idol. The idea is simple; to find the best invention in the country. Hundreds of candidates audition and the competition is eventually narrowed down to twelve semi-finalists, chosen by a panel of four judges. The twelve are given $50,000 each to help them to improve on their invention.

The final is broadcast live and four finalists have to promote the invention in a brief commercial. The audience at home is then invited to vote on the phone for their favorite. The winner is awarded the princely sum of $1,000,000 prize money and this is used to develop the product further. The first winner on American Inventor was a mechanical engineer called Janusz Liberkowski and was awarded for his Anecia Safety Capsule, a children's car seat with improved safety features. A company is getting the product ready for marketing to the public. Liberkowski tragically lost his daughter as a result of a traffic accident and this inspired him to come up with the invention.

The host of the show is Matt Gallant, an experienced presenter, and the four judges are Peter Jones, Ed Evangelista, Doug Hall and Mary Lou Quinlan. Each of the judges brings a different type of experience to American Inventor. Jones is also the creator and co-producer of the show. He is a British businessman who was also involved in the UK reality show, Dragons Den. Evangelista is a creative director in advertising and Quinlan is a CEO in the marketing industry and an author and columnist on marketing subjects. Doug Hall is an inventor himself and also markets other people's inventions. He has an insight, therefore, into all the pitfalls of trying to market an invention.

Other inventions demonstrated on the show included the Tonerbelt, a fitness belt designed to be part of a cardio vascular and strength-building regime. The Word Ace is a children's word game that helps with spelling and vocabulary skills and the Headliner is a disposable liner for wearing under wigs and headgear. These ideas show the variety and ingenuity that is the hallmark of American Inventor.

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