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Annual Ceremony Celebrating Direct Response Industry Honors Industry Giant

Guthy-Renker With Multiple Nominations and Awards

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Solidifying its status as the industry's most successful and most awarded infomercial, Guthy-Renker and its revolutionary acne treatment system, Proactiv Solution celebrated several unprecedented wins at the 16th Annual Electronic Retailing Association (ERA) Awards Gala in Las Vegas. The event, recognizing the best in the electronic retailing industry, honored Proactiv Solution with "Infomercial of the Year," "Best Short-Form Health and Beauty" and "Best Short-Form of the Year," featuring Jessica Simpson. This year's awards ceremony was historic in that it marked the first time that any direct response television company received wins in all three categories.

Guthy-Renker received more than a dozen nominations and took home eight awards for Proactiv Solution, Winsor Pilates, Get The Edge and Natural Advantage brands. This is the seventh consecutive year that Proactiv Solution has been nominated at the award ceremony and the esteemed brand's seventh win, making the Proactiv show the winningest infomercial of all time. Over the past eleven years, Proactiv has gained an enviable reputation throughout the skin care category and beyond with its unparalleled production values, impeccable use of A-list celebrities and meticulous care in brand messaging.

"We're honored to be recognized again for delivering top-quality productions as this further solidifies our status as the most successful and most awarded infomercial," said Karen Barner, senior vice president of marketing for Proactiv Solution. "The response to Proactiv continues to be remarkable. The life-changing product remains more popular and relevant than ever, not only because of this incredible system that works for many people, but also because of its outstanding shows and notable celebrity supporters. We're sincerely humbled by our peer's support and recognition of Guthy-Renker and all of its brands."

Also honored at this year's awards ceremony was Winsor Pilates, Guthy-Renker's intellectual property-based fitness program designed to tone and sculpt the entire body. Winsor Pilates creator Mari Winsor won "Best Female Presenter," a first-time win for her role in the show, while Winsor Pilates spokeswoman Daisy Fuentes received "Best Celebrity Presenter" for Winsor Pilates 5. Additionally, Winsor Pilates was awarded "Best Long-Form Sports & Fitness." "The pair's recognition for their contributions is a large achievement for Winsor Pilates and solidifies its staying power in the fitness category, particularly as the brand celebrates its fifth year and is in production of its sixth show," said Barner.

For 18 years, Guthy-Renker has developed and created infomercials for some of the most profitable and well-known products of Direct Response Television including a host of early successes such as Personal Power(R) with Tony Robbins; Principal Secret(R), a skin care program with partner, Victoria Principal; Proactiv(R) Solution acne treatment with Vanessa Williams; and the Power Rider(R) exerciser with Fran Tarkenton. Even more recent successes include Winsor Pilates(R) featuring Daisy Fuentes, Meaningful Beauty(TM) hosted by Cindy Crawford, and Core Secrets(TM) with celebrity fitness trainer Gunnar Peterson.

In addition to Proactiv's wins for "Infomercial of the Year," "Best Short-Form Health and Beauty" and "Best Short-Form of the Year," Guthy-Renker brought home additional awards in a variety of categories, including:

* "Best Long-Form Health & Beauty" for Natural Advantage, a

revolutionary anti-wrinkle system from actress Jane Seymour

* "Best Live Shopping On-Air Guest" to Tony Robbins for Get The Edge(R),

a powerful program in which Robbins delivers his proven strategies

that can help virtually anyone achieve anything they desire -- and

experience amazing levels of personal fulfillment in the process

About Guthy-Renker

Established in 1988, Guthy-Renker is one of the world's largest direct response television companies with annual sales of $1.5 billion dollars. It is known as the leading producer of high-quality infomercials and products designed for direct response television sales, with offices in Palm Desert, CA; Santa Monica, CA; London; Beijing; Tokyo; New Zealand; and Sydney, Australia. Guthy-Renker has a superior track record of customer satisfaction for 18 years.

Originally launched as a television direct marketer by Co-CEOs Bill Guthy and Greg Renker, the independently-owned, vertically-integrated company has since broadened its focus into every area of electronic retailing, making quality products available to U.S. and international consumers through broadcast television, cable and satellite, as well as internet, telemarketing, direct mail and retail channels.

ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC RETAILING ASSOCIATION

Representing a more than $300 billion market, the Electronic Retailing Association is the only trade association in the U.S. and internationally for major companies in the multi-channel electronic retail industry, which includes long- and short-form commercials, live shopping channels, the Internet and radio. ERA counts industry leaders like Guthy-Renker, HSN, QVC, ShopNBC and eBay among its member companies.

SOURCE Guthy-Renker