The Oprah Effect...

I had seen a show a while back called The Oprah Effect, that was all about the talk show legend and the power she has when it comes to attracting the public to certain products, public figures, etc. and then I watched an episode of Chronicle that I had in the DVR that was all about the entertainment industry in New England and this show had an entire segment dedicated to the Oprah Effect as well. I knew Oprah was a very influential person, but I never realized just how much of an impact her stamp of approval could have on such a broad range of things. For example, one of the things mentioned was a pie company in Centerville who had sent Oprah two pies while she was on the Cape for Eunice Shriver’s funeral. Apparently Oprah and her entourage loved the pies and Oprah’s friend Gayle King who has her own radio show was talking about how great they were on the air. Just this brief mention caused the companies daily orders to triple. That is amazing! Another example that was discussed on the show was a writer from up north somewhere (Vermont maybe?) who had published a few books that had been moderately successful, but were not breakout hits with the public. However, after Oprah chose one of this particular author’s books as a selection for her book club, that specific title sold over a million copies! Basically, the point of the shows seemed to be that Oprah Winfrey has the Midas touch! Is it just me, or is anyone else fascinated by the fact that one person has such a strong influence over millions of people?