‘Cheers’ star reveals companies’ inside stories

By Roger Simmermaker

Many Americans fondly remember the Made in America documentary TV series hosted by John Ratzenberger on the Travel Channel, which debuted in 2004 and featured such fine American brands and companies (and their domestic factories) as 3M, Louisville Slugger, Sam Adams, Welch’s Grape Juice, Ruger, Delta Faucet, Ivory Soap, and Jack Daniels.

In 2008, however, the Travel Channel decided to move on to different programming, and the Made in America documentary series came to an end.

But now John Ratzenberger is back and he’s starting a new TV series called John Ratzenberger’s American Made.

You may also remember John Ratzenberger as Cliff Clavin the mailman on “Cheers,” or for his many voice parts in Pixar’s feature films such as “Toy Story” and “Cars.”

One of the great things about this new campaign John has started is that it gives you a chance to be part of the show from the beginning (even actually be featured on the show), and get some great American stuff in return for showing your support! You can visit the official American Made TV Series website here to find out more of what it’s all about, including what kind of rewards are available.

There’s even a video of John explaining, in his own words, as only he can do, about his vision for the new series and, of course, his commitment to the American made movement.

Ratzenberger and his team have chosen to crowd fund the first few episodes of the American Made series in order to promote some great American-made companies and bring together many of those involved in the “Made in America” movement prior to airing the series. One of the groups John is including in that “Made in America” movement is my own organization “How Americans Can Buy American,” which has sent out “Buy American Mention of the Week” articles like this one to thousands of email subscribers for well over a decade now.

Some of the many great rewards you can get for supporting the American Made documentary series range from an “I Support American Made” T-shirt to Cheers or Pixar films memorabilia personally autographed by John Ratzenberger himself. There’s even some chances to meet with John in person and talk about Buying American, Toy Story, Cheers, or whatever you want!

You can earn rewards on American-made stuff for as little as $10, but you can donate pretty much any amount (even less than that if you like). All the contributions that have been made are listed on the website for you to see. For me, since I rarely pass up a chance to visit New York, I chose to support the show at the $150 level so that I could meet John there at his American Made Festival in March of next year.

The money you contribute will be used to hire an all-American production staff (yes, this show will be American-made too!) which will help make the show a reality. It’s great to know that every dollar spent to produce John Ratzenberger’s American Made TV series will go straight back into the U.S. economy. Anything short of that just wouldn’t seem right, would it?

If you’re interested in supporting the American Made TV series, you might want to visit the website soon to find your favorite rewards, as I’ve noticed some of them are getting “Sold Out” signs posted next to their pictures and descriptions.

John Ratzenberger’s American Made will feature the best in today’s American-made companies including cutting edge products, exciting new brands you may not yet be familiar with, local manufacturers, and even the popular American household names we all know and love. You might even be surprised to find which of your favorite brands are actually American made!

I hope you’ll check out the website, learn more about this exciting new TV series, and consider lending your support. Few things are more important to today’s economy than getting the word out about how we can all learn to keep and create American jobs, which still remains job one in the minds of many Americans.

This new TV series presents a popular, proven, and easy way to do just that by presenting many of our country’s current and up-and-coming economic business heroes – the same ones who resist the urge to outsource and commit to keeping their production right here in the USA!

See Ratzenberger’s pitch:

[jwplayer oamqL4WE]

Roger Simmermaker

Roger Simmermaker is the author of "How Americans Can Buy American: The Power of Consumer Patriotism." He also writes "Buy American Mention of the Week" articles for his website. Roger has been a frequent guest on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC and has been quoted in the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and US News & World Report, among many other publications. Read more of Roger Simmermaker's articles here.


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