The Rise and Fall of the First Popeil Gadget Dynasty

The Rise and Fall of the First Popeil Gadget Dynasty is a 2013 book by Andrew Mateja.
The Rise and Fall of the First Popeil Gadget Dynasty is a story about two gadget telemarketers of the 1970s and early 1980s - Popeil Brothers and Ronco Teleproducts - through the author's personal recollections of having the unique distinction of having worked for both companies during that period.
The book explains through first-hand recollections how two distinct and separate companies were fierce competitors vying for the same retail shelf space every year. Ironically these two “competitors” were owned by father and son with one company (Ronco) becoming a viable entity through the assistance of the other (Popeil Brothers). Mateja emphasizes this distinction since, over time, the popular notion became that these two companies were one in the same. Both Popeil Brothers and Ronco sold their products directly and independently of one another to the major retail chains of the time, such as Montgomery Wards, F.W. Woolworth, Walgreens, E.J. Korvettes, G.C. G.C.Murphy, Gold Circle, Super X Drugs, Jack Eckerd Drugs, J.C. Penney, and many others. Retail sales averaged from $16 million to $33 million every year per individual company.
From a business standpoint, the book addresses in great detail how Popeil’s innovative marketing concept was introduced to the American public for the first time and the key components that made it effective, both for the Popeil/Ronco and the numerous retail chains that participated in their program. Elements of their successful program concept are still being utilized by telemarketers today.
Making the impossible not only possible, but quick and simple…that was the impetus behind a wealth of innovative products, a.k.a “gadgets” that emerged from these two unique and innovative companies, Popeil Brothers Inc. and Ronco Teleproducts, both of which gained tremendous national familiarity, starting in the 1960s, through the medium of television.
Mateja discusses how Popeil and Ronco revolutionized television marketing. Their pioneering spirit left an indelible mark on the world of commercial advertising that would forever change the way uniquely original household products are marketed. By taking live product demonstrations to the still new and expanding medium of television, Popeil Brothers and Ronco captured the hearts, the minds and the pocketbooks of millions of consumers around the world. Through their creative use of limited product placement, they skillfully directed customer traffic to specific retailers who participated in their sales program.
This remarkable marketing concept has endured for over 40 years with no sign of dissipating any time soon. Today, dozens of new products are introduced to the public 24/7 using Popeil Brothers and Ronco’s tried and true marketing principle of identifying a need and providing a simple solution.
Very little has been written about this period with writers preferring to write about Ron Popeil’s more recent “Infomercial” accomplishments during the past twenty-three years. The book covers where it all began…..back in the 1950s and ended in the mid-1980s through bankruptcy. The book will appeal to millions of readers around the world. It covers a chapter in our history that very few people understand….except for those who lived it !!!
This book however corrects several of the misconceptions that have been circulating in articles and newsprint for the past thirty years such as the belief by some that Ron Popeil was the creator of his father’s products and the real reason Ronco was forced into bankruptcy in early 1984.
Infomercials that currently dominate late night TV are a direct result and natural progression of the specialized media advertising perfected by these two companies. Popeil and Ronco products were always highly demonstrable and value-priced to appeal to the consumer’s “impulse” psyche. They also refined the standard selling price by using psychological price points. A typical $10.00 retail item was advertised at $9.95. An $8.00 item was offered at $7.77. A $6.00 item sold for $5.88. Shaving a few pennies off the retail price appealed to the buyers perception of “a special deal”.
The impact of recurring advertising resonated with consumers long after the final commercial was aired. In fact, museums across the country proudly display memorabilia to provide a constant reminder of a bygone era.
The book also delves into the creativity in developing the specialized TV product commercials of that era and the advertising plan and air-time purchases that ensured abundant exposure of the product and the retailers who were selling each. This at time long before Cable TV, UPC Bar Codes and Home Computers

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