Maciej Bukowski, the creator of the teleshopping channel, has died
Maciej Bukowski, the entrepreneur behind the success of the most famous Polish television channel dedicated to teleshopping, has died. He was 60 years old and had cancer. “My happiness, the prognosis is slowly coming to an end,” he wrote on social media a few months ago.
Today, the ability to watch advertising scenes on the screen does not impress us, but in the 1990s, a TV channel that covered teleshopping for several hours was something special. All the more so because they were not short advertising spots, which we are bombarded with today during breaks in films, but stand-alone programs, which often included a script, guests, experts, visits to the homes of people who allegedly changed their lives thanks to purchasing a given product…
Mango teleshopping. Spider, exercise equipment, household appliances…
Mango TV viewers could buy vacuum cleaners, vacuum bags, DIY equipment, clothes – in short, everything that we could envy the Germans or Americans. Teleshopping promoted the spider brace, a harness designed to keep the spine straight, and the cosmodisk, a back massage belt. These and other products from the screen were copied by other companies and found their way to bazaars.
Some of the advertising films were recorded in Poland, but long American advertising strips were also shown. The presenters encouraged people to make quicker decisions and tempted them that the first people who decided to make a purchase would receive free accessories or two products for the price of one. To authenticate the huge interest in the advertised products, from time to time the camera zoomed in on the telephone consultants who were efficiently accepting orders.
Over time, stationary stores under the Mango brand and its own television – Mango24 – also appeared.
Mango teleshopping disappeared in 2020
However, the changing world has not remained indifferent to teleshopping: it disappeared from the air on August 1, 2020. The timing of the channel photo is surprising because it was the period between the first and second lockdown, and yet, during the pandemic, online stores were booming. Despite this, the teleshopping format was worn out and consultants had no one to answer the phone.
On Thursday, the media reported the death of Maciej Bukowski, a businessman from Gdynia who was behind the sales channel.
The entrepreneur was struggling with a serious illness. Almost 20 years ago he contracted Hodgkin’s disease. Over time, he was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma. In 2012, he underwent a bone marrow transplant.
Bukowski wrote about his very bad condition on social media on December 31, 2023. It’s a kind of farewell and thanks to those who gave him something good. “I spent over 100 days in hospital rooms. I underwent a life-saving procedure. (…) My luck, the prognosis is slowly coming to an end. I would like to traditionally thank the doctors who devote so much strength and energy to saving me. (…) Thank you once again. To our friends, acquaintances, colleagues,” he wrote.
