"Totally Awesome" Headlines of the Past

"Totally Awesome" Headlines of the Past


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Alex Cabrero Reporting This certainly isn't the first time Dell Schanze has made headlines. Some of his "Totally Awesome" ads have been controversial through the years, but so has he.

Love him or hate him, he definitely is memorable.

Maybe it's his spiky blonde hair, and his over-the-top delivery, but the first time you saw Dell Schanze, you couldn't forget him. His style made him sort of a mini-celebrity, who's troubles also brought him attention.

Dell Schanze: "They're full of bunk, though."

Even during controversy, Dell Schanze seemed to love the attention.

"Totally Awesome" Headlines of the Past

Dell Schanze/May 2005: "I was absolutely shocked when I found out they were going to press charges against me, instead of the bad guys. Hello?"

His latest... this past May, when he was charged with reckless driving and pulling out a gun.

Residents in a Draper neighborhood say he was speeding through streets full of children playing, so they confronted him. He says he pulled out his gun for protection, but that got him trouble.

Dell Schanze: "You can't trust what they're going to do."

"Totally Awesome" Headlines of the Past

Of course, it wasn't the first time Super Dell got super attention. In January 2004, he criticized Provo for wasting taxpayer money on supposedly inferior computers.

In October 2003, he made Utah Native Americans angry, when in an ad he said the fictitious Shiffer Indian tribe died because they were intellectually challenged.

Four months earlier, he crashed his motorized glider in Magna.

And in May 2001, the Better Business Bureau gave his Totally Awesome Computer company a negative listing for misleading ads on warranties.

Of course, Schanze fought it, holding a rally outside the Better Business Bureau's office.

Dell Schanze: "Every company on the planet claims to be the best."

But even those who claim to be the best, eventually fall.

So what does this all mean for people who have his lifetime warranty on their computers? There's an employee meeting tonight, and we'll hope to get you some answers on Eyewitness News at 10.

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