In 1984, the Federal Communications Commission changed the face of American television forever. That was the year when the FCC removed the cap of 16 minutes of commercial time per hour of programming, paving the way for "program-length commercials," which soon became more commonly known as infomercials. Direct response ads directing viewers to order products by phone weren't new, but infomercials changed the game. And the more that a product could be demonstrated for a viewer across a half-hour infomercial,
the better, making kitchen products the perfect fit. Decades before old tech became modern kitchen staples, products like tabletop convection ovens, electric pressure cookers, and panini presses were great fits for the format, but there's one name that's probably more closely associated with the format than anyone else: Ron Popeil.
With a lineup that included a knife set, the Veg-O-Matic, Chop-O-Matic, and Dial-O-Matter choppers, various food dehydrators, a pasta and sausage maker, a vacuum sealer, and other kitchen products across a larger overall slate of Popeil's inventions, the wares sold by his Ronco corporation were perfect for the infomercial format. One Ronco kitchen product stands above the rest in name value to modern audiences, though: The Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue, one of just a few products sold by the current version of Ronco. With a memorable catchphrase -- "Set it and forget it!" -- helping make it one of the best "as seen on TV products" of all time, let's take a deep dive into the full story of the Showtime Rotisserie.
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Who Are Ron Popeil And Ronco?
Inventor Ron Popeil founded Ronco in 1964 as the corporate entity behind his father's own inventions, the Veg-O-Matic vegetable chopper and Pocket Fisherman folding rod and reel. Ron had become an expert showman of a salesman as a teenager, showing off his father's inventions in Chicago at Maxwell Street Market and Woolworth's, and that polish allowed him to easily transition his salesmanship of his father's (and soon his own) inventions on television. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to show you the greatest kitchen appliance ever made," he says to open the famous commercial break-length spot for the related Chop-O-Matic product. Even in the space of less than four minutes, the very young version of Popeil took viewers through what would become his typical spiel, claiming that the product will carry a higher price at retail, but that you can get it right now for a significant discount.
Over the next several decades, Ron Popeil would become a household name, pitching his inventions on TV. Those products were always perfect for demonstrating on TV, whether it was a new kitchen appliance or something as offbeat as spray-on hair to cover bald spots. The world changed for the better for Popeil and his company in 1984, when the FCC removed the cap on the amount of advertising that could air on TV in a given hour, clearing the way for "program-length commercials," or infomercials. From then on, Popeil became a staple of infomercials' faux talk show format.
What Is The Showtime Rotisserie And How Was It Introduced?
Around early 1999, a new Ronco infomercial hit the airwaves, featuring Ron Popeil pushing his Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue, a spit-roasting appliance for cooking meat and vegetables. Though there are at least three distinct versions of the infomercial that exist on YouTube, all with different hosts, one YouTuber was kind enough to make sure to clearly label his upload as the original, taped off an April 4, 1999, broadcast. (Curiously, in a departure from the format and future revisions, Popeil's co-host is not named at the start of the show.) Popeil's opening pitch focused on the inconveniences associated with traditional barbecue cooking, like the weather dictating when one can cook outdoors and the involved clean-up process, making it a much bigger pain even when the weather was agreeable. These, he said, were the reasons that he invented the Showtime Rotisserie.
From there, you get the classic Popeil formula. The food itself looks great. There's an early, shocking moment in Ron taking a hammer to the rotisserie's tempered glass window to show off the build quality. There are, as always, some awkward edits where Popeil re-did his lines in post-production. His announcement of Showtime's selling price plays with your expectations from other infomercials ("...not even $170, like you may all be thinking...") to make it seem like a better deal. And, most memorably, Popeil establishes the catchphrase that would become synonymous with the Showtime Rotisserie: "Set it and forget it."
How Successful Has The Showtime Rotisserie Been?
If you even glanced at infomercials circa 1999, then the Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue was hard to miss. In December 1999, Popeil explained to Home Furnishing Network that not only was he pumping a lot of money into filling the airwaves with that infomercial, but it was paying off big time. "The Ron Popeil Showtime Rotisserie and Barbecue has been very successful," he said. "I'm spending $1.2 million a week on media, close to $50 million on the product in just over a year. And every week it pays for itself." He didn't break sales down by product, but he indicated that Ronco as a whole grossed $250 million in 1999. In 2016, Popeil told MEL Magazine that the Showtime had grossed $1.4 billion.
By December 2001, it was clear that not only was the Showtime Rotisserie here to stay, but it was also a seriously high-quality product. In that month's issue, Consumer Reports, long known for its rigorous product testing, compared rotisseries and found that the big infomercial name brands, the Showtime and a George Foreman-branded competitor, did the best jobs of the rotisseries they tested. The Showtime has been a staple of the kitchen appliance world ever since, alongside the likes of the Instant Pot and Foreman Grill, doing $1 billion in cumulative sales by 2018, according to an interview that Ron Popeil gave to the New York Post.
Where Does The Showtime Rotisserie Stand Today?
According to the current Ronco's website, there are currently four different Showtime Rotisserie models, not including color options: The Showtime 6000 Platinum Rotisserie with a $249.99 MSRP, the Showtime Platinum Digital Rotisserie at $229.99, the Showtime Modern Rotisserie at $239.99, and the Showtime EZ Store Rotisserie, which is available directly from Ronco for $154.99. All have the same capacity, touting their ability to cook "a 12-pound turkey or 2 whole chickens" at a time, with the differentiators mainly being cosmetic and which digital presets are available. The Modern Rotisserie simply has a more visually appealing design in line with more modern kitchen appliances, while the EZ Store aims to reduce the Showtime's footprint as much as possible without sacrificing any capacity or functionality.
As for customer satisfaction, the three models available at Amazon all average right around 4.5 stars across numerous user reviews. As a legacy product, reviews from established publications are generally on the older side, but if you look around, you can find some expert assessments. YouTuber CookingwithQueenii, for example, gave it 4.95 stars, explaining that she was essentially giving the Showtime a five-star review but only docking the score slightly because of one minor design choice she didn't like. Though Ron Popeil died in 2021, he leaves behind a legacy of inventing memorable, useful products, with the Showtime serving as the showpiece product for the modern Ronco.
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