At age 13, he contracted polio; while recovering, he happened upon a magazine advertisement offering a ventriloquism kit for ten cents.

The idea for the album cover was taken from an old magazine advertisement from the 1970s.

The con artists will repeatedly state the speaker's value as anywhere between $1800 and $3500, prices often purportedly verified by showing a website, brochure or a magazine advertisement.

It emphasized magazine advertisements and had the extra cost of the strategy guide included with each game.

In 1896 magazine advertisements began running in national magazines, and a strongly organized sales force was dispatched in the field.