• The New York Times , Thursday, October 2, 2008 10:30 AM

While we're on the subject, fans of vintage advertising will be happy to learn that footage of Ron Popeil -- the huckster behind Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman and the Inside-the-Egg Scrambler -- is interwoven into new spots out of Ronco, the company behind the classic, in-your-face infomercials popular with insomniacs and masochists.

Stephanie Clifford reports that squabbling among the investors that bought Ronco from Popeil in 2005 eventually led to a bankruptcy filing. It's now under new ownership. The new spots feature a new pitchman, Mark Stolley, but archival clips of Popeil are interspersed into the pitches for new products like the Grillwave and a revived Veg-O-Matic. Using Popeil in the ads appeals to an "older audience," says a Cal State at Sacramento professor who is no friend of mine.

The Times says that the infomercials can be seen at full length at romco.com, but I couldn't find them. Maybe, deep down, I really don't want to. There is, however, an illuminating "About Us" where you can read about the day that the "proverbial light bulb" about how to effectively hawk products went off in Popeil's head.

Read the whole story at The New York Times »