Bookview, issue 246, Wm.Tienken

Non Fiction Book Reviews #246

ZIPPO:

AN AMERICAN LEGEND

by Avi R. Baer & Alexander Neumark

On a warm summer night in 1931 George G. Blaisdell was attending a gathering at the Bradford Country Club when he watched an acquaintance light a cigarette with a lighter which seemed to George as a clumsy and unsightly accessory. Although unsightly it worked and that impressed the practical-minded George. So he applied for, and was granted, the U. S. distribution rights for the one-dollar Austrian made lighter that he had seen being used by his acquaintance. The Austrian-made lighter consisted of two pieces- a removable brass lid, and a brass bottom case which had the wick, fuel reservoir, and striking mechanism. But sales were disappointing and Blaisdell soon relinquished his distribution rights for the imported lighter. Using the skills and experience gained in his father's machine shop, he set out to design and manufacture a lighter of his own. Blaisdell designed a lighter that would fit comfortably into the palm, and did not need both hands to operate. He surrounded the wick with a replica of the Austrian lighter's wind hood, the patent off which he had purchased. In 1933 Zippo lighters went on sale. "Zippo" came from "zipper" as it sounded modern, new and progressive. George C. Blaisdell remained at the head of his company until he passed away in 1978 and the business was inherited by his daughters. It was during the Great Depression that Blaisdell had come up with a promising new product, but he still had to sell it. One of his most significant marketing concepts was the introduction of the extraordinary "lifetime guarantee." This unusual policy was to become pen of the foundations of Zippo's success. During the following years Blaisdell tried out various marketing and promotional ideas. IN 1936 an Iowa insurance company ordered 200 lighters to be engraved and given away as prizes to the insurance company's salesmen. At almost the same time the Kendall Oil Company ordered 500 lighters with their insignia as gifts for customers and employees. Zippo had entered the specialty and promotional market. Before long Zippo's campaign to persuade manufactures and retailers to use the lighter as an advertising medium began to get a positive response. Many advertisers would take advantage of this new promotional opportunity over the years. By 1938 the factory and offices had to move to a larger location. Also in that same year Zippo introduced their first table lighter. But the table lighters were not a commercial success and were discontinued in 1941. The lifetime guarantee has proven to be Zippo's most effective marketing techniques. By 1962 the "Zippo Repair Clinic" was mending over half-a-million lighters a year. And is currently repairing and returning 1,000 lighters every working day. The first patent for the Zippo lighter was applied for in 1934. Over the many years Zippo has been careful to patent not only their developments but their trademarks as well. Zippo takes strong action against a patent or trademark infringement. While World War II brought initial difficulties for Zippo, it also brought truly worldwide recognition. Although the Zippo was a not officially adopted by the armed forces, thousands of the lighters were shipped overseas to many Post Exchanges (PX)s) The lighters sold out fast. And when the troops were shipped overseas they took their Zippos with them. The demand for Zippos among the armed forces became so great that Zippo Manufacturing's entire production was earmarked for military personal and they became unobtainable by civilians at home. Eventually the Zippo was only supplied to overseas Post Exchanges. The Zippo became a coveted American icon, eagerly sought out after as a gift, trade item, pr outright purchases. War correspondent Ernie Pyle helped to spread the lighter's fame and popularity as he wrote about the Zippo lighter in many of his columns. World War II was undoubtedly the moment in history which saw the Zippo's popularity spread all over the world. In the postwar years, sales of Zippo lighters took off like a rocket. In 1947 the ten millionth Zippo was produced, only nine years after the first million in 1942. In 1949 Zippo established a manufacturing plant outside the United States in Canada to avoid high import duties. In the 1930s Zippo started in a room over a service station and by 1955 had moved into a new, ultramodern building. This was also due to the ongoing success. Zippo originally introduced table lighters in 1938 and discontinued them in 194. In 1950 came a second series of table lighters and in 1953 came a third series. In 1960 Zippo introduced another series of table lighters that was discontinued. Zippo's famous car made it first appearance in 1948 and was used in parades and special events up to the 1960s. The advertising icon has mysteriously disappeared. In World War ii and in Korea, Zippo went to war with the U. S. troops and in Vietnam Zippo was there. Zippo were personalized and embellished in Vietnam to a far greater extent than in previous wars. This was due to local Vietnamese craftsmen who engrave the additions requested. There was about 200,000 Zippos used by Americans during the Vietnam War and the GIs used their Zippos for a variety of things. From lighting C-4 plastic explosives to removing leeches. Through all the years of the U. S. space program Zippo has had a close relationship with NASA. NOt only did Zippo manufacture lighters with the NASA logo, but many lighters were produced for all the different spaceships as well as the space shuttle and all the missions. In 1972 a 40th anniversary commemorative was issued and autographed by George G. Blaisdell. In the late 1970s a Zodiac series was introduced, featuring the twelve signs of the Zodiac. A denim series appeared, and a Wrangler commissioned a Zippo with their logo. A Bicentennial lighter was manufactured in celebration of the 200th birthday of the United States. From 1976 to the early 1980s, Disney characters and Disney themes were well represented on Zippo lighters. Brand names and companies from all over the world are still appearing on Zippo lighters. In 1978 the Elvis Presley lighter debuted and is still available today. Sadly in 1978 founder and president George G. Blaisdell died. In 1982 the Pipe lighter was introduced. 1982 was also Zippo's fiftieth anniversary year, and a replica of the 1937 lighter was produced. In the mid-1980s, Zippo realized that a huge number of Zippo owners bought the lighters as "collector's items." With this in mind, Zippo started producing lighters specifically aimed at the collectors' market. Zippo also began marketing advertising to the male population in related magazines. To commemorate 90 years of Harley-Davidson Zippo produced a limited edition lighter in 1993. Starting in 1992 Zippo began producing yearly collection lighters for the collectors market. And today Zippo is producing lighters with many different designs recognizing the high marketing opportunities. Since 1933, thanks to George G. Blaisdell, making fire has never been the same.

BUT, WAIT! THERE'S MORE!:

THE IRRESISTIBLE APPEAL AND SPIEL OF RONCO AND POPEIL

by Timothy Samuelson

Everyone knows the Popeil family and their astounding products. For over forty years, the Popeils' high-energy television commercials have made them familiar intruders into America's living room. Even if you resisted the temptation to buy, their commercials and products are probably indelibility stored in your mind. The Popeil story is a classic tale of hustle and chutzpah. Samuel J. Popeil and his brother, Raymond, started as street pitchmen, demonstrating inexpensive household items at beachfront boardwalks and county fairs in the 1930s and the 1940s. The Popeils later adapted these same skills to the emerging medium of television advertising, establishing what was to become the basis of their fame and success. The products the Popeils pitched were a key part of their success story. Most were clever kitchen gadgets invent by Samuel J. Popeil and manufactured in the Popeil Brothers factory under Raymond's watchful eye. Simple to manufacture and inexpensive to sell,, the products became larger than life under the Popeil-style promotions. The story continues today with the ongoing television presence of Ron Popeil, Samuel J. Popeil's son, who has earned popular culture immortality as the greatest television pitchman of them all. Like his father, Ron Popeil became a master live demonstration pitchman at an early age, eventually moving to television in 1964 to sell his own line of products under the name Ronco. Samuel Joseph Popeil was born in New York City on January 22, 1915, the son of Isidore and Mary Popeil. Mary Popeil's family was a virtual dynasty of salesmen and manufactures who used their skills and street smarts to succeed in the field of live-demonstration merchandising. In 1932, when Samuel Popeil was seventeen, he stepped in for his ailing uncle and did a demonstration of a kitchen gadget at a Macy's in New York. Samuel discovered that he had a natural ability to pitch and under the tutelage of his uncles, he successfully perfected the act. One uncle conveyed the value of manufacturing his own products, thereby eliminating middlemen's costs. While still in high school. Samuel Popeil spent his spare time selling products through his newfound pitching skills. The products were simple kitchen gadgets that he purchased wholesale from suppliers or obtained from his uncles. To expand his business, he trained some of his school friends to pitch on a percentage basis. His most adept student proved to be his younger brother: Raymond. At the 1939 New York World's Fair, Samuel and Raymond were among a dozen demonstrators strategically placed around the fairgrounds to pitch a glass knife, and other crowd-attracting products. Samuel Popeil married Julia Schwartz and they had two children, Jerome in 1933, and Ronald in 1935. After the divorce Jerome and Ronald went to live with their grandparents. In 1942 Samuel Popeil moved to Chicago where he continued his pitching. He also experimented with creating gadgets of his own, taking advantage of Chicago's reputation as a manufacturing center. Raymond Popeil joined Samuel in Chicago and they resumed their business relationship. In late 1945, the brothers established the firm of Popeil Brothers, a business dedicated to the manufacture and sale of small kitchen gadgets. Throughout its thirty-four-year history, Popeil Brothers retained its identity as a family-run, no-nonsense business. In the fifties television gained in popularity and that changed the nature of business for the Popeil brothers and other pitchmen. The Popeil Brothers enjoyed considerable success by supplying goods wholesale to many of the pioneering television pitchmen. But they did not produce filmed commercials of their own until 1961. In 1956 the Grant Company- a Chicago firm specializing in selling products on television- selected Popeil Brothers' newly released Chop-O-Matic food chopper for one of its pitch-style television promotions. For the on-air pitchman, the Grant Company chose a young man who had great success in demonstrating the Chop-O-Matic at Woolworth's in downtown Chicago- Samuel Popeil's twenty-one-year-old son, Ronald. At the age of sixteen, Ron closely observed the techniques of the seasoned demonstrators. When he tried pitching himself, he proved to be excellent at it. While still in his teens, Ron Popeil established himself as a skilled pitchman, working the circuit of county fairs and trade shows. On weekdays, he pitched his products at Woolworth's including the Chop-O-Matic. The modest commercial put Ron Popeil before American households for the first time. In 1961 the Popeil Brothers launched their first independent venture in television advertising in promoting the Veg-O-Matic. The Veg-O-Matic was an unqualified success and over 11 million units were ultimately sold. In September of 1979 the firm of Popeil Brothers was sold. Samuel J. Popeil died on July 15, 1984 and Raymond Popeil died on Christmas Day, 1988. In 1964 Ron Popeil chose to start his own television marketing business with his friend Mel Korey. The firm started out small. By 1973, Ronco Teleproducts, Inc. was a publicly traded corporation with net sales of over $20 million in a year. And like his father Ron was also an inventor and product developer. In 1984 Ronco was forced into bankruptcy. Ron Popeil used his personal savings to buy back the remaining Ronco products and production tooling from the bankruptcy receivers. By 1987 Popeil's gamble paid off. From 1987 through 1990, Ron went into semiretirement, tinkering with new products ideas and working as a consultant to other companies. In 1991 he returned to television to promote his Food Dehydrator. Inspired by the success, Ron Popeil;l decided to make his own info-commercials The success of of the Ronco Food Dehydrator was soon followed by info-commercials for other products. By the mid-1990s, Ron Popeil had firmly assumed the mantle as the high priest of unusual television products. Through his years of hard work and public exposure, Ron Popeil has become a nationally recognized celebrity. Ron Popeil was estimated in 2001 by Forbes magazine to have an annual income of $20 million. Three Popeils' knew how to pitch magic.

BARBIE:

FOUR DECADES OF FASHION, FANTASY, AND FUN

by Marro Tasa

Barbie, the most famous doll in the world, has a first and last name, (Barbie Millicent Roberts), and parents (Robert and Margaret Roberts). Barbie has allowed a multitude of little girls and adolescents access to the forbidden world of grownups through play. Barbie has been subjected to media criticism, and feminist and intellectual faultfinding. And as the times have changed Barbie has adapted quickly to an ever-evolving market in order to stay competitive and continue building on her wide spread commercial success. Barbie is not the first doll to take the form of a grown woman. Historically, those dolls that functioned as playthings asp resembled and shared the anatomy of the adult female. In a Roman sarcophagus was found a splendid ivory adult doll with related garb dated circa 150-160 A.D. The nineteenth century was a golden period for the establishment and dissemination of dolls. They had become an industry in countries such as France and Germany, where an endless array of them were produced. These dolls were produced in the image of adult women and were educational and behavioral models for early training in adulthood. In 1945 came the birth of the toy company named Mattel. Mattel flourished during the 1950s with hit toys such as musical toys and miniature toy weapons. Ruth Handler wanted to initiate doll production at Mattel but was voted down by the male executives. But she never abandoned the deal of getting into the doll business, it was on her mind constantly. The turning point came with the Handler family's European vacation during the summer of 1956. In Switzerland, Ruth Handler saw a doll in a toy shop that perfectly matched the one she had in her mind. The doll in question was named Lillie and measured 11.5 inches tall. Lilli already had a history and was enjoying a success. She originated in a German newspaper comic strip that first appeared in June of 1952 and was very risqué. The first Lilli doll appeared in 1955 and, like the comic strip, was targeted for an adult audience. Soon the Lilli doll could be found throughout Europe. Mattel acquired the patent and necessary rights; every technical detail of the doll was deconstructed and analyzed. Lilli dolls were the pattern into which the original model of Barbie was slowly superimposed. There were many difficulties early on with the production of Barbie, But soon the problems were ironed out. The production of Barbie dolls, clothing, and accessories started being produced in Japan and was expanded to Hong Kong and to South Korea. Barbie officially debuted on the American toy market in March of 1959 at New York City's American Toy Fair. Buyers met the doll with only moderate enthusiasm at first. But when Mattel promoted the doll on television during the popular "Mickey Mouse Club" show Barbie became an unprecedented commercial success. During 1959, more than 351,000 Barbie dolls were sold at the price of three dollars apiece. But it was Ruth Handler's instinct to market the doll with a big wardrobe full of clothes and accessories sold separately was clearly the real trump card. Barbie's true novelty was being a fashion model/doll who could be endlessly transformed by means of her constantly changing wardrobe. In the years to come, Barbie was continually altered to tailor her more carefully to market expectations to improve her competitive edge. Barbie's boyfriend Ken made his debut in 1961. Barbie's international;; "career" was her 1961 arrival in London. Other countries soon followed, where she continued to spread the word of Barbie, officially assuring her place in the European toy market. Barbie's best friend Midge was added to the growing family in 1963. Barbie and Midge could war the same clothes which was very convenient. New characters were introduced in 1964-65 and enhancements to the Barbie family continued. In 1968, Barbie dolls were able to speak. The new "Talking Barbie" had six sentences she could speak. Mattel began in 1968 to look beyond Japan for a new factory sites where they could keep production costs low. New plants in Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines were soon to follow. Mattel continued top forge ahead with fresh ideas and innovations for the doll and her line of accessories, among them the addition of a variety of new characters in the Barbie clan and countless enhancements of Barbie's facial expressions. Barbie dolls have been sold in more than 140 countries, at a rate of two every second across the globe. Since 1959, nearly one billion outfits have been produced. And each year about 150 different models are brought to the international market. The business of Barbie continues top multiply each year at a staggering rate. In 1959 Barbie was just a teenage fashion model. But by 1961 she entered the workforce. But by 1961 Barbie was a ballerina, an American Airlines stewardess, and a Registered Nurse complete with a diploma and severe eyeglasses. In 1964 Barbie was an astronaut ("Miss Astronaut") wearing the same type of spacesuit used by NASA and holding a tiny American flag. Twenty years before and American woman was sent into space, Barbie wore her clothes. Barbie would return top being an astronaut in 1986 and in 1997. In the past forty years she has been a surgeon, teacher, fashion editor, paleontologist, pilot, rock star, reporter, firefighter, engineer, and so much more. Barbie is more than just a doll. Barbie has also been a Hollywood legend. Bob Mackie designed a series of limited edition Barbie dolls. Barbie has appeared in Scarlett O'Hara's most celebrated dresses. From The Wizard of Oz she has been both Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch. She has worn a classic Star Trek uniform. Barbie recreated Marilyn Monroe's classic pose from The Seven-Year-Itch and Marilyn from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Since 1980 Mattel has marketed "The Dolls of the World Collection" in which Barbie is being used to represent different races and cultures all over the globe, carefully interpreting the world's national costumes. In Ruth Handler's original concept, Barbie was to serve above all as a mirror image onto which the child could play transfer and then compare the fantasies with other realties. Clearly Barbie has fulfilled this need and Ruth Handler did it her way.