But Wait, There’s More!
Before you could buy something with one click, a man on television could convince you that your entire household was doing everything wrong. Fortunately, he had just the thing to fix it. These 60s and 70s products promised an easier life—and somehow always made the perfect Christmas gift.
Popeil’s Pocket Fisherman
Apparently, carrying a regular fishing rod was asking too much. The Pocket Fisherman folded into a compact package with a built-in reel and space for tackle. Marketed on television in the 70s, it promised fishing whenever the opportunity appeared. Finding cooperative fish remained your problem.
Mr. Microphone
Mr. Microphone broadcast your voice through a nearby FM radio, turning practically anyone into an announcer. Its commercial famously declared, “Hey, good-looking, we’ll be back to pick you up later!” Subtle? Absolutely not. But that line became almost as memorable as the gadget itself.
K-Tel’s Feather-Touch Knife
Before Ginsu became a television sensation, K-tel was selling the Feather-Touch Knife. Founder Philip Kives said his Australian television campaign sold one million knives between August and Christmas 1965. That’s quite a reminder that the real money wasn’t always in inventing something—it was in selling it.
The Inside-The-Shell Egg Scrambler
Cracking an egg into a bowl and grabbing a fork apparently needed an upgrade. Ronco’s electric scrambler used a spinning needle to mix the contents while they were still inside the shell. A 1978 commercial pitched this very specific breakfast solution as a Christmas gift.
The Bottle And Jar Cutter
Why throw away an empty bottle when you could turn it into a drinking glass? Ronco’s Bottle and Jar Cutter helped users transform discarded glass containers into homemade projects. It combined thriftiness with crafting—and made the contents of your recycling pile look surprisingly promising.
The Record Vacuum
Before your music collection lived on your phone, it collected actual dust. Ronco’s Record Vacuum spun a vinyl record and promised to remove dust from its surface, with commercials appearing by 1977. Buying records was only the beginning. Apparently, your albums also needed their own little cleaning appliance.
K-Tel’s Hair Magician
The Hair Magician promised a haircut simply by combing your hair. The catch? This comb contained razor blades. Advertised in 1973, it offered families a way to save on trips to the barber. Whether everyone appreciated the resulting haircut was another question entirely.
Ronco’s AutoCup
Spilling a drink in the car gave Ronco another problem to solve. Its AutoCup, advertised in 1977, promised spill-resistant drinking while keeping beverages hot or cold. Travel cups seem ordinary now, but this one arrived with the full television treatment. Even your coffee needed an upgrade.
The Buttoneer
A missing button didn’t have to mean finding a needle and thread. The Buttoneer attached buttons with small fasteners instead. Ronco revived the struggling product by lowering its price and giving it a convincing television pitch. Sales reportedly increased tenfold within a year.
The Veg-O-Matic
“It slices! It dices!” became the kind of promise viewers could practically hear before the commercial started. Introduced in the 60s and familiar during the 70s, the Veg-O-Matic pushed vegetables through blades. Suddenly, preparing potatoes looked like something that required a demonstration and an audience.
The Glass Froster
Having cold drinks wasn’t enough. Apparently, the glasses needed a dramatic entrance too. Ronco’s Glass Froster promised to frost drinking glasses almost instantly when you pressed its lever. Advertised in the late 70s, it offered home entertainers one more gadget for impressing the neighbors.
K-Tel’s Patti Stacker
K-tel found a sales pitch even in making hamburgers. Its Patti Stacker helped shape and stack patties, with the promise, “Your hands need never touch the meat!” For anyone preparing a batch for the freezer, that sounded useful. It certainly sounded more exciting on television.
Popeil’s Whip-O-Matic
The Whip-O-Matic was a hand-cranked mixer that could whip cream and mix eggs without electricity. Its “planetary action” sounded impressively futuristic for something powered by your wrist. Sold during the 70s, it made a simple kitchen task sound like a major technological breakthrough.
The Rhinestone And Stud Setter
Before buying an outfit covered in decorations, you could buy a gadget and decorate it yourself. Ronco’s Rhinestone and Stud Setter attached sparkle to ordinary clothing. Its 1978 television pitch fit a decade when making your jeans more noticeable could apparently count as an improvement.
K-Tel’s Miracle Brush
Lint removal might not sound like the foundation of a business empire, but K-tel made it work. Its Miracle Brush removed lint and hair from fabric without disposable sticky sheets. By the late 60s, sales reportedly reached 28 million units. That’s an awful lot of sweaters.
K-Tel’s Record Selector
The Record Selector held albums in a rack that let you flip through them with a fingertip. Early 70s commercials presented searching through a stack of records as a household crisis. K-tel’s answer made choosing an album look almost as entertaining as listening to it.
Ronco’s Ice Cream Machine
Ronco’s Ice Cream Machine offered homemade ice cream with a little appliance that worked inside your freezer. A 1978 commercial presented it as another great gift. For families tempted by homemade desserts, the pitch was appealing: Buy the machine, choose your flavor, and let it do the stirring.
The Smokeless Ashtray
Sold during the 70s, Ronco’s Smokeless Ashtray drew smoke from a resting cigarette through a filter. The name sounded like a complete solution, although smoke someone exhaled still entered the room. It was a very 70s approach to making indoor smoking less bothersome.
The Miracle Broom
Despite its name, Ronco’s Miracle Broom was a small cordless electric vacuum. Late 70s commercials demonstrated quick cleanups without hauling out a larger machine. The basic idea was practical enough. Calling it a miracle was the part that made it ready for television.
The Dial-O-Matic
The Dial-O-Matic let users adjust the thickness of vegetable slices by turning a dial. It offered a different approach from the Veg-O-Matic, and a 1974 commercial confirms its place in the decade. Apparently, owning one gadget for cutting vegetables didn’t mean you couldn’t be sold another.
The Tidie Drier
Ronco’s Tidie Drier pulled double duty, offering attachments for drying hair and small clothing items. That made it particularly easy to pitch as a money-saving household helper. A hair dryer that also handled laundry? In the world of television gadgets, one job was rarely enough.
The Cookie Machine
Ronco’s battery-powered Cookie Machine pushed dough through interchangeable discs to create shaped cookies. Documentation dates the product to at least 1976. It offered home bakers a shortcut to impressive-looking batches, although someone still had to make the dough—and clean the machine afterward.
The Pottery Wheel
Ronco didn’t just promise to make chores easier. Its tabletop Pottery Wheel offered a new hobby, with a television commercial appearing in 1978. Viewers could watch someone shape clay and imagine doing the same at home. The commercial made the learning part look awfully quick.
Ronco’s Speed Tufting Kit
The Speed Tufting Kit offered another route to homemade décor: making your own rugs. Sold in 1975, it included a tufting tool and patterns, including an owl design. Because if anything belonged in a 70s home, it was one more owl staring back at you.
The Flower Loom
The Flower Loom helped users make yarn flowers that could be joined into larger projects, including bedspreads and tablecloths. Ronco’s pitch showed the finished creations, making the little loom look remarkably productive. Of course, between buying the kit and finishing a bedspread came quite a few evenings.
The Roller Measure
Ronco’s Roller Measure calculated distance as you rolled its wheel along a surface. Sold during the late 70s, it offered an alternative to stretching out a measuring tape. No elaborate electronics required—just another small household job that television could turn into a reason to shop.
The CleanAire Machine
Introduced in the late 70s, Ronco’s CleanAire Machine took its smoke-filtering idea to room size. The pricier appliance was meant to improve profits, but overstocking and heavy retailer returns later helped undermine the company. Selling a bigger solution turned out to create a bigger problem.
Did You Actually Own Any Of These?
Remembering the commercial is one thing. Admitting you bought the product is another. Did your household actually use these gadgets, or did they end up in a drawer after Christmas? And be honest: How many would you still buy if someone gave you a convincing enough demonstration?
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