Tweet

Lesson #1: Make the Product the Star of the Show

Article Overview: There really was not much to Ron Popeil’s Veg-O-Matic. You took a vegetable of your choice, put it through the machine’s blades, and you immediately had vegetable slices. But, if it was such a simple and transparent device, how come it became one of the first food-processing appliances to gain such widespread popularity in the U.S.? Were Americans really that eager to find a better way of slicing and dicing their veggies? Perhaps, but there was more to it than that; in pitching his product, Popeil made Veg-O-Matic the star of the show.

Lesson #1: Make the Product the Star of the Show

There really was not much to Ron Popeil’s Veg-O-Matic. You took a vegetable of your choice, put it through the machine’s blades, and you immediately had vegetable slices. But, if it was such a simple and transparent device, how come it became one of the first food-processing appliances to gain such widespread popularity in the U.S.? Were Americans really that eager to find a better way of slicing and dicing their veggies? Perhaps, but there was more to it than that; in pitching his product, Popeil made Veg-O-Matic the star of the show.

It was the summer of 1964 when Popeil introduced the Veg-O-Matic to audiences across America. In a two-minute commercial, Popeil had the challenging task of trying to convince viewers that if there was one thing they had to have in their kitchen, the Veg-O-Matic was it. In order to sell that idea, he knew what he had to do. Popeil had to turn the camera away from himself and onto the product. He was one of the first to understand the impact of the compelling images that were possible with the new medium of television and he used that to his advantage. He directed the viewer’s attention to the machine, demonstrating how it worked with ease, its lack of complicated gadgets, and its fast results.

The success of the Veg-O-Matic commercial taught Popeil a lesson he would use again when launching his Showtime Rotisserie. In creating his infomercial for the meat cooker, he opens with shots not of himself, but of the luscious, juicy poultry slowly rotating inside his latest invention. The voice then comes on: “a delicious six-pound chicken…a succulent whole duckling…a mouthwatering pork-loin roast.” If that did not make your mouth water, on to the screen came Popeil to lure you even further into his grips.

Over the next few minutes, Popeil garnishes some salmon with lemon and dill and puts it into his Rotisserie; then, onto a rib roast, and a pair of chickens. But, the beauty of it all is that very rarely does the viewer actually get to see Popeil’s face. Rather, the camera is focused on the tempting food almost the entire time. And Popeil’s seductive voice guides viewers through the entire process: “What I'd like to do is take some herbs and spices here. All I'll do is slide it back. Raise up my glass door here. I'll turn it to a little over an hour. . . . Just set it and forget it.”

Making the products the star of his infomercials worked so well because that is what they were designed to be. The Rotisserie was manufactured with a clear plane of glass so that you could watch the entire, juicy process of the meat being cooked. The glass was also slanted backwards so that a large amount of light could seep through. Popeil understood that the better the product looked, especially while in use, the easier it would be for him to sell it. Thus, both in design and in marketing, Popeil made sure it was his product – not himself – that was the star of the show.

Related Articles
  Who Is Your Proud Family?
  The Three Stars of I Ching Astrology
  Video Killed the Video Star
  Three Marketing Lessons from Realtors
  Super Stars Don't Make the Team

Article Tags: appliances, audiences, chickens, dill, few minutes, first food, food processing, gadgets, infomercial, latest invention, lesson 1, mouth water, pork loin roast, poultry, rib roast, salmon, showtime rotisserie, star of the show, veg o matic, veggies



Related Forum Posts
Re: What would you like to see be invented? - Hi GT, All I know is that Paul Walker is one of the main characters in Timeline. On the Star Trek side, there's one invention we already have that's very similar, just not as good. All of the doors on the Enterprise automatically open when someone gets to them, and then automatically close after they've passed through. We have that technology in every supermarket store. What I would like to see as an improvement is that all of those doors open much faster, like they did on Star Trek. Sometimes I have to wait for the doors to open because they don't start to open until I'm almost running into them, and then they open rather slow. If they could improve on them and have them more like the doors in Star Trek that would be awesome.
Wikis vs websites - Hi, AM Yes, you've pretty much got it. There's plenty of Wikis out there - for example Star Trek has a wiki, Star Wars has a wiki called Wookiepedia, there's even a Terry Pratchett wikipedia called LSpace. There's even a sports wikipedia called Armchair GM... Ah, my brilliant ideas are always a day late and a dollar short... However, the more I research them...the more I see that they don't have any ads on these sites...so basically they're just big ol' philanthropies... not what I'm aiming at, at all!
Re: Quote of the Day - "The only people witho - Thanks for sharing this Evan, there are some very powerful quotes in there, I particularly like this one:- You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. regards, Mal.
Re: How can I use this forum to market my company? - Show yourself as a specialist in your field by answering relevant questions on the forum.
List of a few legitimate online business - Well My main methods to make money so far are adsense,affiliate marketing and freelancing and I think these are some more sites that can help me to make some more money.Your reviews are welcome: ::linkworth dot com>This site is awesome and offer lots of ways to make money. ::mturk dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::microworkers dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::shorttask dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::istockphoto dot com>sell stock photos ::eHow dot com>Make money writing ::Bukisa>Make money writing ::Associate Content>Make money writing ::Triond>Make money writing ::fiverr dot com>$5 freelancing job ::cpalead dot com>make money by completing offer ::peerfly>make money by completing offer


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Online Business Ideas: A Look At Various Options

Sales Flubs

The five pillars of internet marketing strategy

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.