Customer Reviews

But Wait! There's More!: The Irresistible Appeal And Spiel Of Ronco And Popeil

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An interesting, visually exuberant, book about Ronco and the Popeil family. Essentially the book is a twenty-four page essay by author Samuelson with the remainder of the pages taken up with pictures and captions describing the various products they sold on TV.

Samuelson writes a rather sympathetic history of the Popeil's and the bizarre collection of household wares they pitched to gullible consumers, who can forget the 'inside-the-shell egg scrambler' (1978) or the 'GLH formula number 9 hair system' (1992) most likely everyone who bought them. He also writes that the products had 'unusually high quality product design', looking through the photos of the products this judgement seems way over-the-top. Still, folks bought this stuff by the million thanks to Ron Popeil's excellent marketing hype and fast pitched delivery. This came about because the FCC limited TV commercials to two minutes or less and the Popeil's had honed their pitch for the Veg-O-Matic (1956) to four minutes and could not bear to leave anything out so the only answer was to speak faster.

I was surprised by the design of the book, square in shape with three large circular holes in the cover (they reveal three photos on the first page) and pages of product photos, vintage ads, stills from TV commercials, colored panels and text all mixed up but in a nicely controlled way. There is an index in the back. But, wait! There's more, although this book concentrates on Ronco and the Popeil's you can see a whole load more (dubious) TV advertised products in 'As Seen On TV' by Lou Harry and Sam Stall.

Don't forget, never say battery operated, it's cordless electric. Isn't that amazing!

I see that many reviewers, rather than reviewing the book, are choosing this forum to indict Ron Popeil. Let me preface by saying that I am NOT a blubbering couch potato who buys any gadget that is zestfully presented on an infomercial. In fact, most of them drive me nuts. That being said, I cannot bring myself to say anything disparaging about Ron Popeil. He is who he is, a gifted inventor and a charismatic salesman.

The publisher's review makes reference to gadgets sitting silently in a closet. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I still use my Pocket Fisherman I bought in the '60s. My Showtime Rotisserie cooks delicious meals for my family. And although better tools have come along since, even my Veg-O-Matic served a long and useful life. I have Ron's knives and while they are not the pretentious (and expensive) "French Chef" knives my daughter has, they stay sharp and are very utilitarian. I could go on, but suffice to say that EVERY one of Ron's products has worked as advertised and are as robust as advertised. That is not to say that every gadget Ron invented or improved was a great idea (e.g. egg scrambler), but he had the will and nerve to make them and put them out there. This is no small feat, as any inventor or developer will tell you.

But then, this IS about the book, isnt it? The author did perhaps used a little literary license when crediting Ron. But, like BASF, even if he didn't originate all these ideas, he MADE THEM BETTER! I found the book to be a welecome walk down memory lane. It was well laid out and informative. Don't pick this book apart when you read it. Look to it rather for the entertainment value, much as many of us look to Ron's infomercials.

This is a fun, coffee table book. But by twisting truth, spinning potential negatives and giving credit where credit really isn't due, the author does a major injustice to the rich history of the pitch person.

Here are a few examples:
1) The book seems to credit Ron Popeil for the inspiration of the Saturday Night Live "Bass-O-Matic" spoof. The spoof wasn't so much a send up of the low-key Popeil commercials as it was a satire of the colorful, high energy pitch people you always find in an obscure corner of a State or County Fair who sometimes exagerate product claims and, by their looks, obviously doesn't drive home to Beverly Hills after a hard day of hawking product. When Danny DeVito was on Saturday Night Live looking like a fool spray painting people's bald heads -- now that skit was inspired by Ron.

2) The book implies that Ron Popeil authored the term, "Set It and Forget It," where in fact "Set It and Forget It Operation" was used in one of the most successful infomercials of 1992, a counter top hot air oven called, the Jet-Stream Oven and pitched by Dave Dornbush. That product went on to sell well over a million units at around $200.

3) Even the book's title, "But Wait There's More" is from other direct response creatives, not the Popeils. The author may openly admit this, but he needs to realize that he colors history with cockeyed crayons when attaching this title, and many other facts, to the Popeil machine. Bogart may never have said, "Play it again Sam" in "Casablanca," but it wasn't taken from someone else when Woody Allen popularized it in his play.

4) The books points out that Ronco used to sell the Dazey Seal-A-Meals as a distributor. It goes on to state, "Similar devices...are still on the market today." Again, a crude attempt at assigning credit to the Popeils for products that have nothing to do with them. Will the author one day make reference that many of the words he used in his writings are still found in dictionaries today?

The Popeil family does have a place in novelty item heaven. Successfully sold products launched earlier by others gives you success, shows you have chutzpah and can make you tons of money. But it doesn't give you solitary, absolute authorship. The moon did exist before a flag was planted on it.

The commercials were furious in the speed of their delivery and at least a few decibels louder than the shows they sponsored. Each of them pitched one or more "inexpensive" gadgets that were "guaranteed" to make some task in your life simpler. The products they demonstrated were "Ronco" and "Popeil", and they still resonate through my long-term memory decades after they ceased to be aired. And I also must confess that I did buy a few of their products to use as Christmas gifts.
The late, great Johnny Carson used the commercials as a model for his "Art Fern" character on the "Tonight" show. His beautiful sidekick Carol Wayne made him appear even funnier because she was so soft and sedate compared to his hyperkinetic delivery.
This book is the story of the people who created the products and what the products were. Without question, the highlights of the book are the pictures of the products and the captions explaining them. Starting on page 51 you see

*) The Chop-O-Matic
*) The Dial-O-Matic
*) The Veg-O-Matic
*) The Corn-O-Matic
*) The Mince-O-Matic
*) The Peel-O-Matic
*) The Whip-O-Matic

Ah, the memories this brings back!
However, my favorite gadget of all is the "Popeil Sit-On Trash Compactor." It is exactly what the name implies. You placed a garbage bag in the device and then when it was full, you literally sat on a plunger that compressed the garbage. No electricity was needed, just a hard and ample behind.
If you were old enough to understand television in the late sixties and seventies, then you could not have avoided seeing the "Ronco" and "Popeil" commercials. Reading this book is a way to travel back in time and revisit some of the most amusing pop culture and commercialism of the era.

This bright and colorful book is a great, easy read and guaranteed to make the reader smile. (or your money back?) It doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is....a look at the enormous success of the Popeil family over many decades and the dozens of products associated with them. The star, of course, is Ron Popeil and when I see him on a TV infomercial hawking the Showtime Rotisserie he ALMOST makes be believe I should buy one.

The author, Timothy Samuelson, introduces the Popeil family and neither minces words about the inter-family problems nor the bankruptcy Ronco was forced into in 1984. Yet, this book is really a walk down memory lane for those of us old enough to remember the chop-o-matic and the veg-o-matic. The book's illustrations (mostly photos and drawings of past products) are terrific and my only real criticism is the use of annoyingly small narrative print.

Lastly, "But, Wait! There's More!" is a testament to the staying power of Ron Popeil. An ingenious inventor, he has re-invented himself many times over....and he's still out there trying to convince us (...)

Anybody who grew up in the 1970s remember Ronco products... ingenious items that you just couldn't live without! Whether it was a Cordless Electric Garden Trimmer (or the world's smallest lawn mower) or the Veg-o-matic there was always some new gadget being sold by Ronco. A real cool book! Lots of illustrations.

Ron Popeil (or Ronco as he is lovingly known) has done more than we may ever know to further the human race. He has changed how we live, how we love, and, most importantly, how we cook chickens. This book is a testimony to how much flavor Ronco can inject into your life...(alot).

Popeil surely has a place in gadgetmania history, but to take credit for the work of others is an insult to the reader. Most TV gurus know that even the title " but wait theres more " is the work of the GINSU Guys. If we can't even believe the title, perhaps we shouldn't trust much after we open it. Despite Ron's attempt to take credit for just about everything except the discovery of the polio shot, I found this book amusing. But only if I were to buy it from " Buck a book"