Ron Popeil…legendary pitchman and self proclaimed “Salesman of the Century” (I assume Ron was talking about the 20th century) has moved on the great shopping channel in the sky (28 July 2021). From the UK “Daily Telegraph”…
“Ron Popeil, the self-styled ‘Greatest salesman of the [20th] Century’, who has died aged 86, was the founder of Ronco, purveyor of products with brand names often ending in “O-Matic”, that you never knew you needed – and probably discovered, too late, that you did not need.
His career began working for his father Samuel, a Chicago-based manufacturer of run-of-the-mill kitchen devices who had developed a sideline as an inventor of gadgets such as the Citrex juice extractor, the Toastette sandwich-pie maker and the Slice-a-Way cutting board.
Samuel also created the Chop-O-Matic, an onion-chopper employing a rotating, spring-loaded steel blade. At first, the Popeils sold the Chop-O-Matic through live demonstrations at flea markets, dime stores and at Woolworth’s. But in 1958 Ron began selling the gadget on television.
He made a five-minute commercial, reprising his sing-song street-vendor pitch: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to show you the greatest kitchen appliance ever made … If you order right now, the price is not $5.98, but $3.98. That’s right, $3.98. As a special bonus, you will receive with your Chop-O-Matic at no additional charge a valuable recipe book: 50 Secret Recipes by World Famous Chefs.'”
The big breakthrough for the Popeils came with the Veg-O-Matic, launched in 1963. The following year Ron founded Ronco, which went on to market hundreds of “amazing” gadgets to television audiences around the world, pioneering what became known as “infomercials” and, on packaging and in the print media, puffs featuring the phrase “As seen on TV”.
I’ve mentioned before the documentary…
…”Gadgetmania” that looks at the world of the famous pitchmen. Ron Popeil features heavily in that as well as in the book “But Wait…There’s More!” (How the $100 Billion Infomercial Industry Sold Us Everything but the Kitchen Sink) by Remy Stern.
Ron’s autobiography…”The Salesman of the Century” is a fascinating read for any serious marketer. The first half covers Ron’s personal story. The second half is all about Ron’s approach to business. Right at the start of that second half, he sets out two simple rules that all his products needed to abide by…
Ron’s Rule #1: The product has to be needed by lots of people
Ron’s Rule #2: The product has to solve a problem
Well worth keeping in mind for any marketer or business owner.
The product that I most often associate with Ron Popeil is the Ronco Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ…with the phrase “Set it and forget it”. In tribute to Ron…here’s one of his infomercials…
If you want some pointers and tips to make your own videos that sell, it’s well worth studying the work of people like Ron Popeil and other great pitchmen such as the late Billy Mays. Remember, these kind of infomercials delivered billions of dollars in sales.
RIP Ron Popeil (born 3 May 1935, died 28 July 2021)…a sales legend. Wherever he is, I’m pretty sure he’ll be coming up with ideas to make improvements in the kitchen…and getting people to buy those new gadgets.