Whatever Happened To “That Crazy Wrap Thing?”

Hey girl, have you tried that crazy wrap thing?” I can literally hear the desperation in my head as I type those words. If you had social media in the 2010s, you undoubtedly ran into hundreds of former high school classmates who “hadn’t talked to you in a while.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, these women wanted to rekindle a friendship that never actually existed. They’d ask how you’ve been and, almost immediately—before you could even hit send on your message back—they would ask the famous eight words that would make any rational person cringe in a sea of ICK: “HAVE YOU TRIED THAT CRAZY WRAP THING?”

It Works! was a company that ascended the business world using a strategy known as multi-level marketing (MLM). Their goal wasn’t to make products that truly helped people. Oh no, their real mission was to sell the most amount of something with no scientifically backed evidence to as many stressed-out and desperate women as possible. And they did it under the guise that these women could become rich and independent by reselling those products to their high school friends.

It was the epitome of modern-day snake oil salesmanship, wrapped in fancy branding and aggressive social media tactics.

The Target: Who Fell for This?

The genius (read: evil genius) of It Works! and other MLMs is their ability to prey on the exact people who would be the most vulnerable to their scammy business model. Their prime targets included:

• Stay-at-Home Moms with “Extra Time” – Because nothing screams “extra time” like raising tiny humans, cleaning up endless messes, and running on three hours of sleep. But according to It Works!, these women were just sitting around, desperate for a “fun and easy side hustle.”
• Women Wanting to Lose Weight the Easy Way – Forget diet and exercise! All you needed was this magical wrap that promised to “tighten, tone, and firm” without any real effort. (Shocking spoiler: it didn’t.)
• Moms on Fixed Incomes – When you’re struggling financially, It Works! promised an escape route. But instead of helping women make money, it often left them deeper in debt after they stocked up on inventory that no one wanted.

The Marketing Machine: How They Got You

The It Works! marketing playbook was as predatory as it was effective. Their tactics included:

• Social Media Spam – Your Facebook feed suddenly turned into a graveyard of It Works! pitches from distant acquaintances. They posted transformation pictures (often misleading or stolen), hyped up their #BossBabe lifestyle, and slid into DMs faster than a desperate ex.
• Emotional Manipulation – “Don’t you want to stay home with your babies? Don’t you deserve financial freedom? You just have to BELIEVE in yourself!” This psychological warfare convinced women that if they failed, it was their fault for not trying hard enough.
• Pseudoscience BS – “Detoxifying,” “fat-burning,” “metabolic-boosting”—all buzzwords with no actual scientific backing. But throw in some before-and-after pics and suddenly overpriced cling wrap became the next big thing in weight loss.

The Cold, Hard (and Depressing) Numbers

Now for the real gut-punch: the earnings (or lack thereof) for your average It Works! distributor.

• Bottom of the Pyramid: A staggering 85.13% of distributors earned an average of $87 per month. That’s about $1,044 a year—less than $21 a week. You’d make more babysitting for a few hours on a Saturday night.
• Higher Ranks: Sure, some people made it to the top, but less than 2% of distributors reached ranks like “Double Diamond,” where they earned around $5,367 per month. And those at the very top? They were cashing in by exploiting everyone below them.
• The Ugly Truth: A whopping 98.89% of It Works! distributors made less than a full-time income. In fact, many ended up losing money after factoring in their personal purchases and inventory requirements.

The Downfall: How It Works! Crashed and Burned

So what happened to It Works!? Like many MLMs, the hype eventually faded, lawsuits piled up, and the ugly truth became impossible to ignore. The internet became flooded with ex-distributors sharing horror stories, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cracked down on deceptive MLM practices, and people finally started catching on to the scam.

Social media, once their greatest tool, turned against them as anti-MLM communities emerged. Facebook groups, YouTube exposés, and TikTok callouts began educating people on the dangers of MLMs, making it harder for new recruits to fall into the trap.

It Works! is now more of a cautionary tale than a thriving business model. While the company still exists, its glory days are long gone, and fewer and fewer people are taking the bait.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Be the Next Victim

If you’re on the verge of joining an MLM—or if a long-lost “friend” is trying to sell you on a business opportunity that seems too good to be true—heed this warning. MLMs like It Works! don’t exist to make you money; they exist to make the people at the top rich while you flounder at the bottom.

Instead of investing in overpriced body wraps and predatory recruitment schemes, put your time and energy into something that doesn’t require manipulating your friends and family. Because the only thing “It Works!” actually worked at was scamming thousands of women out of their time, money, and dignity.  And that my friends, IS a crazy wrap on things.