Some of the most memorable TV commercials when I was a kid came from a company called Ronco. Whether it was Pocket Fisherman, Veg-o-Matic, or Mr. Microphone, the commercials always had this smarmily intriguing feel to them that was entertaining on some level. This was immortalized in parody by Dan Akroyd in his classic Bass-o-Matic sketch.
The man behind the Ronco curtain was a guy named Ron Popeil (therein the company name “Ronco”). Somehow it struck me this week that Donald Trump is a current day Ron Popeil but on a much bigger and more serious stage. You could call what he is promoting “Donco” I guess.
Ronco’s cheaply-made but over-priced products always seemed to hype their ability to satisfy some minor need that was a diversion from the real problems of the day. But they usually had some kind of practical pitch and could demonstrate how they would solve a problem. Donco’s product line-up seems limited to just the promoter himself. On one hand, the pitch is inferior to Ronco’s as there is no attempt to give any indication how any problem will be solved in any practical way by buying the product — just a stream of “believe me’s” and “i’m telling you’s” — an appeal to magical thinking that somehow the details will fall into place just by putting the promoter in charge of everything. On the other hand, the political narrative that accompanies the pitch (“everything is a disaster” and “America is not great anymore”) has been effective at extracting a range of fear-based responses from many consumers — some race-based, some cultural, some religious, some economic. Imagine what Ronco’s sales could have been if they had been as good as Donco is at this pitch technique.
Ron Popeil was a good and entertaining promoter who knew his territory and limits. Don Trump is a good and entertaining promoter who seems clueless about his limitations. Being a good promoter is not enough to qualify someone to be President. Ron was not Presidential material — neither is Don.
