I'm actually from Brazil, Indiana and for many years we use to have an annual popcorn festival. This festival also, every year, had both a popcorn eating contest and an Orville Redenbacher lookalike contest. Orville once competed in, and lost, in this competition.
Doing it "better" also meant that to achieve that, they have used PFAS chemicals (forever chemicals proven to be harmful to humans by its creators DuPont) in the bag lining to prevent oil from seeping through the bag. They also rely heavily on "butter flavour" but won't disclose what that even is. Though, the bags labeled as having palm oil are probably better than their non-palm oil counterparts.
Nope. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket. If you're so attached to one thing, anything could happen. It could end up being the worst failure of your life.
I met Mr. Redenbacher and his wife several times in the 80’s. They lived in a very nice tower condo in Coronado, CA while I worked in Coronado. Each time that I ran into them they were EXTREMELY nice and personable. You are correct, he always dressed the same way, including coat and bow tie. They seemed like very good people, who seem to show genuine interest in whoever they were speaking with.
I met Orville Redenbacher in the 70's. My fifth grade teacher told us that he lived in the same condo building as Orville Redenbacher. Then one day he invite Orville Redenbacher to speak in front of the class, where he taught us how to pop pocorn! So yeah, I was taught to make proper popcorn by Orville Redenbacher. And yeah, he wore a suit, bow tie, and thick glasses.
I live in Valparaiso, Indiana where the company was for many years. We have a statue of Orville in our downtown park, have a festival every year dedicated to him and his popcorn, and some of the other companies/families you mentioned in here (Chester and Bowman) are still around in this area. The Chester company actually had something to do with the park/statue. Pretty cool.
I did some of the earliest TV commercials featuring Orville Redenbacher, and I got to know him pretty well, he was an incredibly nice, somewhat eccentric guy. He was 100% authentic.
Orville was a natural on camera and his dedication to perfecting popcorn was truly remarkable. I did a science experiment for my school years ago testing out a bunch of different brands of microwave popcorn to see which one left the fewest amount of kernels. After much microwaving, counting the un-popped kernels, and eating, the winner was... Orville Redenbacher
I was around in the 1980s, and I remember the campaign with Orville's grandson being fairly omnipresent. It really seemed like the marketing company wanted to "pass the torch" when the time came, but then he vanished from commercials right after his grandfather's death. It seemed like it could have been a smooth transition, so I've always wondered what went on behind the scenes.
In the world? Get real. There's more to the world than the USA. I've eaten tons of popcorn in my life, and never that brand. Popcorn was around long before he was.
My local luxury cinema uses his brand for their popcorn. You would be shocked by how many people come in to buy popcorn without seeing a film. It's that good!
We had a local cinema in the 1990's kick out a couple for smuggling in a bag of Orville's popcorn. This was on the local news. The cinema still refused to let any type of snacks in other than what was sold there. The mall, parking lot and the cinema that was attached to got completely bulldozed in the aughts and a "towne" type center is in its place. No cinema there anymore.
@@Savannah_Simpson 😏 I buy mine....pop it and smuggle it underneath my bulky winter jacket. Soda can in my pocket. I save 13 💵💵💵 🥴 Keep it a secret because {Company Man} might do a video on people cheating the movie theaters.
I really enjoyed your Chef Boyardee video a while back and I'm glad you did another biographical founder's video. Normally you'll touch on a founder's history for a minute or two (and I understand you want to give a high level explanation of everything) but these full length biographies are also fun to watch.
I always think of this particular scene from the X-Files when I hear the term "popping corn" 😂 S07.E14 "Theef": th-cam.com/video/Pu6WGIArq-Q/w-d-xo.html
I live in Northwest Indiana. Orville Redenbacher is treated as royalty in my region. We have a popcorn festival every year with a popcorn parade that people use popcorn to build the floats, even a race called “The Popcorn Panic and Lil Kernel Run”. There is a bronzed statue of him right smack in the middle of downtown Valparaiso, sitting on a bench. He is celebrated every year and has been for over 40 years now. It’s so wild to me that the general population thought he was a character, while he is a legend to us out here. Great video!
Awesome video! Considering I grew up in Valparaiso Indiana and many of my friends worked for Chester (Orville's popcorn business) just outside of town, this video brought back some fond memories. One thing I want to add, the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival was started in 1979 to honor Orville. The festival continues today and is held annually on the first Saturday after Labor Day. Thank you for a blast from my past!
When my friend and I were in high school in 1977, we used the school payphone to call Orville Redenbacher's office- collect! They accepted the charges and put us through to him directly. My friend nervously talked to him for about 30 seconds. I was too scared. He was a super nice guy.
@@alukuhito She asked him how to prevent the "old maids" in her popped popcorn- those are the unpopped kernels. He told her it was a moisture problem and that she should keep her popcorn as dry as possible to avoid this.
My hometown of Valparaiso, Indiana had one of his factories early on. My father even grew it for him and knew him. The town has had a Popcorn festival for him since the 80’s I believe which he would come to. It still goes on each year and now we even have a statue of him downtown. Loved the video!
Yes definitely continue the series if you find any more people I remember when he did pass away one of my elementary school teachers was a glad to share his experience on meeting him I forgot this story details but I just remember how he was all happy to meet him.
This was the first brand of popping corn I ever tried way back in 1979! A friend from the USA brought it over to the UK for us. We were absolutely thrilled. Especially when it began lifting the lid off our pan with it's sheer volume!
I would really like to see more videos like this, highlighting the lives and accomplishments of the people behind the brands. Your Chef Boyardee video is one of my favorites.
You really are one of the most consistent people on TH-cam. Every time I see you uploaded I know I’m in for a relaxing and informative treat. I really appreciate you.
My mom met the Colonel when she was young when they opened up a new Kentucky Fried Chicken in our hometown. Apparently he travelled to each grand opening of his new locations. She is 78 years old now so this was a long time ago, I think maybe early 1960's.
I remember watching hus commercials as a kid and actually can't remember a time where he wasn't a part of Saturday morning cartoons. I never turned away from his commercials because they were a part of the Saturday morning lineup for me. He was inviting like Mr. Rodgers but with the popcorn added. I didn't know about his history or how he died, I just remembered one day he was gone. I don't eat as much popcorn anymore but when we go shopping my kids ask for his only. Just his face and name on the box takes me back because those were happy innocent times before I had to grew up and life kicked in. I appreciate the time you put into making these videos but this one is simple and it means something to me.
I remember the commercials with Orville Redenbacher and had always heard he was just like Colonel Sanders and Chef Boyardee as opposed to Betty Crocker. I love the idea for the series. Stan Lee is someone I'd love to see featured since he was pretty much the mascot as well as force behind Marvel Comics. Walt Disney would also be interesting since he used to host the Wonderful World of Disney and was as well known as Mickey Mouse. Forrest Mars might not fit this theme but he was one of the most brilliant people in the history of prepared food and should be featured
Duncan Hines is also a very interesting character. Before his brand was a national thing he was a famous food critic that travelled all over the country. A fancy restaurant in the town I went to college in had a sign that said "Duncan Hines 5-star restaurant" still in the early 2000's and I didn't get it because at the time I only knew about the cake mix and not the actual man's history as a critic.
In 1976 my mom took me to Disney World in Orlando and Orville Redenbacher himself gave me some of his popcorn. I remember there was a giant hot air balloon in the shape of a popcorn kernel and one segment of it did not inflate. It ascended and hovered for a bit and that was the last we saw of it. All in all, as an 8-year-old kid, the only popcorn I will ever eat to this day is Orville Redenbacher. What an experience for a young child from Alaska!
I’m from Indiana and so many self-made people in the Hoosier state are like him - colorful, straightforward and unpretentious. My grandfather comes to mind. He had exactly those qualities.
I'm from Indiana and I did a report on Orville Redenbacher when I was in elementary school. He's a great guy and I've always loved his legacy. His product is delicious too 😋
I know he is real, I had a project in Highschool about anything we wanted to share so I did it about Orville Redenbacher popcorn brand. I opened with "Raise your hand if you think this is a mascot" and everyone did. So I shared about how he started off and how it ended up today, it is a real shame that most people thinks that he is fake or just a marketing brand, its really sad.
Yeah, but he dressed that way and put his own name on the brand, so it's understandable that people would think he's just a character. Same probably goes for Colonel Sanders. I'm old enough to remember him being a real person, but there are many people now who have never seen him on TV or anywhere else.
I remember the commercials with him back in the 80s. Somehow I never got the impression that he was just a marketing person. Great video, thanks for everything.
I watched this video six months ago when it first came out. Since then, his quote "Do one thing and do it better than anybody else" has really resonated with me. I have not forgotten it. Today I had some Orville Redenbacher Popcorn for the first time. I went with their standard butter flavor. put it in our microwave for the recommended time for a minute and 30 seconds. I added about 10 seconds on to that. What I got was a bag with all but five kernels popped, that had the least amount of scorching I have ever gotten out of a bag of popcorn I've put in this microwave. I suspect the extremely minimal amount of scorching was my fault. I got to be honest, this is easily the highest quality popcorn i've ever had. These guys really knew what they were doing. It was a little more expensive yes, but everything about the product feels high quality. From the box, the bag to the popcorn itself, It really feels like I got my money's worth. You know, I'm so cynical about brands typically. It seems like a lot of them just want money and want to provide the absolute cheapest, lowest quality possible product that the end user is still okay with receiving. I go to Burger King all the time and it seems like their food isn't cooked anywhere near long enough to be a great experience (unmelted cheese for example) but it is cooked long enough to be legal. They skirt the edge as much as they can to keep that bottom line. This doesn't feel like that. This feels like a company that actually cares about the consumer. It's so crazy to still see somebody doing something like this in this day and age. I actually feel like I'm valued as a customer. I doubt I will ever buy another brand of popcorn again. They just got another loyal customer.
Popcorn chicken is not made with popcorn. The breading is just regular flour and seasonings. So Mr Redenbacher wouldn't be an appropriate mascot. (Unless I'm the one making the popcorn chicken, in which case it IS made with popcorn. However, I use cheap discount popcorn because who cares how light and fluffy it pops up when you're just going to throw it into a high power blender and turn it to dust after popping it. I also season it with Flavacol, btw.)
I would never think popcorn chicken is made with popcorn. But the word play has so many possibilities. OR could say, "This chicken is really popping!" While holding popcorn chicken or the Colonel could say "I'd be a chicken if I didn't try this snack" while gesturing to a box of Redenbacher.
My wife would always buy PopSecret or Act II because she didnt want to spend the extra money on Redenbacher. one nighe we watched the popcorn episode on The Food That Built America, and she said "OOOOOKKKKK! Lets get some and see what the big deal is!" we bought the kernels in the container that you pop conventionally on the stove top, and the Redenbacher popping oil. we followed the directions EXACTLY, and virtually every kernel was popped, just like Orville promised. she LOVED it, saying how fresh it tasted, better than any popcorn she had ever had. As a comparison we also got JiffyPop, which was featured on the episode. im 10 yrs older than her (born in '75) and told her how i remembered my dad popping it on the stove (and burning it!!), and even remembered the jingle from the commercial. she then laughed when seconds later they sang the jingle on the show and called me old lol. ever since we have bought ONLY the Redenbacher brand, and have loved it
My family have loved Orville Redenbacher's popcorn since the 70s. We love it. I've always known he was real. He was on TV talk shows in the 70s all the time, Tonight Show, Mike Douglas, Dinah Shore. He was really famous even before the 80s
I grew up in the 70's and 80's and I fondly remember Orville Redenbacher promoting his popcorn in commercials. I'm happy you did this story about him. I always felt he was a legend. Thanks!
I actually met him at my college graduation in 1993. He gave our Commencement address..he was great! I popped popcorn at our movie theater for 4+ years, so he was kinda like a soul mate. I've been to Brazil more times than I can count. What a great guy..RIP.
I love your videos, man! This one just "popped" to the top of my subscription list, and I'm so happy you covered one of my favorite products. When I buy popcorn, it's always this brand, even though I guess it's now just part of Con Agra. Love the research you do on all these and always remember to give you a thumbs up.
Side note to all of this: I think it's Presto that makes an Orville Redenbacker-branded hot air popper. I was given one in 2004 and it's still going strong to this day, having survived many, many moves and 18 years of use. I also occasionally see them in thrift stores, which means they kept working for someone until they after they still needed it.
They still make it, they also have an identical one that's not branded and a few dollars less. I have one that dates back to the late 70's, before the Orville branding, and it's still going strong.
wow air poppers I remember when those were a big thing, I think catalogs like Sears and JC Penny had them front and center for ages in their small appliances section. Some even had a little bowl/tray thing on top to melt the butter.
@@filanfyretracker My Orville/Presto one has a up at the top that's meant to measure out the right amount of kernels and then melt the butter once you get going.
I knew the name Orville was real, but I did always think the mascot was made up, didn’t know the founder actually dressed like that. It’s great to learn about him, and great video as always.
I was fortunate enough to have been around when his ad campaign hit the television. They made it common knowledge that this guy was "real." It's sad to say that many have forgotten, but it's almost good to say that his product isn't advertised (much) anymore, because it doesn't NEED to be. It's the industry standard. I'm also glad that the "look alike" concept didn't take off, like it did with KFC. Orville Redenbacher and Col. Harlan Sanders were REAL people that need to be remembered. Thanks Mr. Man for posting this one.
Damn, this video is really aging me. I'm 39 but distinctly remember his commercials in the late 80s/early 90s. I never heard the idea that some thought he was just a character.
Love these videos you make about the mascots/faces behind companies. Really informative and great stuff! For a long time I though Chef Boyardee was only a mascot and wasn't a real person until I saw your video! Thank you for the quality and well made videos.
You made me get my popcorn kernels out of my pantry and actually look at the man on the label, I didn’t think i would be so emotional by a bottle of popcorn kernels but I am, great video, I think the story was told amazingly
I only became aware of him and his product in the 80's when his ads were followed by a female voice saying, "We're Beatrice." In an age when buyouts were so common, that was emblematic.
Annie from Annie’s Mac and Cheese!!!! She’s a badass who said fuck corporate greed give me the bag and i’ll stay at my farm. And her husband is credited with inventing smart food.
If you're going to be making a series about people behind iconic brands, you've got to do Duncan Hines. He was before most people's times these days but he was the OG restaurant review man before his name ended up on cake mix.
I knew Orville was a real person, but didn’t know much about the man himself. He is pretty inspirational! Love this channel, because the passion really shows! I’m team Orville now.
I once created a fighter on an online MMA simulation game. I called him Orville Redenboxer. His fight quote was “once you get popped, you get stopped”! At one time he was ranked in the top 10 of the game.
I used to work in law enforcement. I've seen all kinds of horrible deaths, or the aftermaths of them. If I could pick how I go out, it would be "Eighty-eight and in a hot tub." This man could be a hero for that alone.
All your videos are interesting- I’ve always been a student of business- how they work- how they grow, and even sometimes, how they go extinct. I never fail to learn something new from your videos! Thanks for all you do! There have been many real persons, like Orville, that create and promote their business creations. Harlan Sanders, Sam Walton, Ray Kroc, to name but a few.
I remember the commercials in the 80's. Our Vo-Ag teacher in high school used to kid us about how Orville was a Vo-Ag teacher and agronomist and how our teacher would maybe strike it rich too. It's really pretty simple, Orville paid attention to the science of hy-bred seed corn that was exploding in the 1920's and 30's in Iowa with People like Henry Wallace and Roswell Garst changing farming forever. Orville just paid the same attention to Pop Corn that people were to Field Corn and he and Bowman cornered the market.
For many years, Orville Redenbacher was the official popcorn of DisneyWorld. I’m sure they exposure helped as well. I remember seeing the logo on the popcorn carts in the parks. Disney changed to PopSecret in2015.
I already knew most of the stuff in this video, but I do love this format of covering 'mascots' that were actually real people. I enjoyed the previous video you did in this format on Chef Boyardee. Orville Redenbacher was awesome.
Orville Redenbacher's popcorn is the only brand I put in my microwave...it costs a bit more, but you really do get more popcorn versus the bargain brands. His story is the stuff American Dreams are made of!
I remember my grandfather made the stovetop popcorn all the time when I was a kid in the 80s. He insisted we only buy OR because it was so much better. Living in rural Ohio, my grandfather even planted a field of popcorn one year. OR was definitely the inspiration for that.
My grandfather was a lifelong fan of popcorn due to growing up in Indiana. He could tell you the best ways to cook it, the perfect ratio of salt and butter to popcorn kernels, and popped a whole pot multiple times a week. He was one of the earliest adopters of Orville Redenbacher's and swore that the brand was the best in the industry.
Lol wow that's last commercial was unsettling to say the least but I'm sure he's somewhere watching and laughing eating some pop corn. Another well done video.
Without knowing a single thing about popcorn and having never been exposed to the marketing (I was born and raised in another country), I discovered Orville's brand by pure chance. I quickly realized this was by far the best popcorn I've ever had. Now, I've learned the story and it's just as good as the popcorn itself.
This new series is a good idea, but I'd also love a series about the people who created or inspired famous fictional mascots as well (like the people who behind Betty Crocker or the Gieco gecko)
I remember seeing the commercials as a kid back in the 90s and always being somewhat fascinated with him. You pretty much nailed it in the video, I thought maybe he was just some actor hired to sell their popcorn. Glad to see he was an actual person and a pretty good person too!
Great job on Orville. I own a movie theater and we sell exclusively Orville Redenbacher popcorn! It's great stuff, but the name brand recognition is good, too. Consider Col. Harlan Sanders or Famous Amos for the future. My first job was with KFC and I got the meet the Colonel!
I love this series! And the popcorn brand brings such a warm nostalgic feeling flooding back to me. When I was a kid, it was such a treat to have a whole bag of the extra butter variety all to myself. I'd plant myself in front of the TV watching Kim Possible or something, have my popcorn, and just be happy as a peach. It was one of my favourite foods to munch on as a kid! I think this kind of video is a great idea, would love to see more!
I’d love if you could do a video on OLLIE’S Bargain outlet. Ollie is the mascot himself they put his photos all over the store, and they actually have a full mascot suit of him too for ads. And each store has a huge bobble head stature of him lol. But he actually committed suicide which is sad. I think his wife maybe continued the brand? There’s not many videos on OLLIE’s so would be cool to see :)
I'm actually from Brazil, Indiana and for many years we use to have an annual popcorn festival. This festival also, every year, had both a popcorn eating contest and an Orville Redenbacher lookalike contest. Orville once competed in, and lost, in this competition.
thats awesome
charlie chaplin also lost the lookalike contest.
weird as hell
@@ssllsg9439 so did dolly parton
You say used to, they don’t do it anymore? Indiana, the corn state, doesn’t have a popcorn festival anymore?
I'm from Valparaiso, IN and we've kept the tradition going.
"Do one thing and do it better than anyone else" is literally the best business advice.
Love that series idea.
Doing it "better" also meant that to achieve that, they have used PFAS chemicals (forever chemicals proven to be harmful to humans by its creators DuPont) in the bag lining to prevent oil from seeping through the bag. They also rely heavily on "butter flavour" but won't disclose what that even is. Though, the bags labeled as having palm oil are probably better than their non-palm oil counterparts.
Nope. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket. If you're so attached to one thing, anything could happen. It could end up being the worst failure of your life.
@@Hexagonian I am eating some Orville popcorn right now lol 🍿🍿🍿
@@aquaviii i just finished a box. i might as well be a walking forever-chemical too. YOLO i guess
I met Mr. Redenbacher and his wife several times in the 80’s. They lived in a very nice tower condo in Coronado, CA while I worked in Coronado. Each time that I ran into them they were EXTREMELY nice and personable. You are correct, he always dressed the same way, including coat and bow tie. They seemed like very good people, who seem to show genuine interest in whoever they were speaking with.
That's awesome
Sure buddy
I met Orville Redenbacher in the 70's. My fifth grade teacher told us that he lived in the same condo building as Orville Redenbacher. Then one day he invite Orville Redenbacher to speak in front of the class, where he taught us how to pop pocorn! So yeah, I was taught to make proper popcorn by Orville Redenbacher. And yeah, he wore a suit, bow tie, and thick glasses.
Orville the OG🍿🍿🍿
Hearing his voice after so long unlocked childhood nostalgia that I didn't even realize stayed with me. His commercials were iconic.
I concur!
I was 10 in 1988 and can remember them commercials, but I think some of them was like from the 70's. I mean at least it seemed like they was🤔
Orville had that Dave Thomas magic where he felt like a genuine person who was only selling what he believed in.
Same here.
Took me wayyy back. He was the Fred Rogers of popcorn :D
I live in Valparaiso, Indiana where the company was for many years. We have a statue of Orville in our downtown park, have a festival every year dedicated to him and his popcorn, and some of the other companies/families you mentioned in here (Chester and Bowman) are still around in this area. The Chester company actually had something to do with the park/statue. Pretty cool.
In middle school, I'd actually marched in the Popcorn Festival parade maybe twice.
What the 😂😂😂
@@TruuReligionn Innsmouth had Dagon. Valparaiso has Orville Reddenbacher.
My condolences. I don't know what I would do with my life if I was a FIP.
@@SchizoGenius Did you go to Morgan Township?
I did some of the earliest TV commercials featuring Orville Redenbacher, and I got to know him pretty well, he was an incredibly nice, somewhat eccentric guy. He was 100% authentic.
Orville was a natural on camera and his dedication to perfecting popcorn was truly remarkable. I did a science experiment for my school years ago testing out a bunch of different brands of microwave popcorn to see which one left the fewest amount of kernels. After much microwaving, counting the un-popped kernels, and eating, the winner was...
Orville Redenbacher
I appreciate your showmanship. The tension-building ellipses before the "the winner was...." is 100% Redenbacher approved.
damn fucking science, bro
This is exactly why Orville Redenbacher is my fave brand.
*Advertising paid by Orville Redenbacher*
The dude stood behind his popcorn. He did make the hybrid himself.
I was around in the 1980s, and I remember the campaign with Orville's grandson being fairly omnipresent. It really seemed like the marketing company wanted to "pass the torch" when the time came, but then he vanished from commercials right after his grandfather's death. It seemed like it could have been a smooth transition, so I've always wondered what went on behind the scenes.
He not have like Con-Agra.
Hell yeah, popcorn
Nom nom 🍿
Hell yeah
Hell yeah
Nah m8, it's pronounced popcoin!
Hell yeah
The late Orville Redenbacher was a genius. Every popcorn lover in the world owes that man an enormous debt of gratitude.
And many movie theater goers. I see a lot of my local theaters carrying Orville brand.
In the world? Get real. There's more to the world than the USA. I've eaten tons of popcorn in my life, and never that brand. Popcorn was around long before he was.
🍿🍿🍿Orville The Goat !!!🍿🍿🍿
eating some right now
My local luxury cinema uses his brand for their popcorn. You would be shocked by how many people come in to buy popcorn without seeing a film. It's that good!
@Feng Probably because they think it’s a niche brand and don’t realize it’s available at almost every dollar store.
We had a local cinema in the 1990's kick out a couple for smuggling in a bag of Orville's popcorn. This was on the local news. The cinema still refused to let any type of snacks in other than what was sold there. The mall, parking lot and the cinema that was attached to got completely bulldozed in the aughts and a "towne" type center is in its place. No cinema there anymore.
Do they not know they can just go to the grocery store and buy it without paying the outrageous movie theater prices?
@@Savannah_Simpson 😏 I buy mine....pop it and smuggle it underneath my bulky winter jacket. Soda can in my pocket. I save 13 💵💵💵
🥴 Keep it a secret because {Company Man} might do a video on people cheating the movie theaters.
@Feng microwave popcorn and movie popcorn don’t compare
I really enjoyed your Chef Boyardee video a while back and I'm glad you did another biographical founder's video. Normally you'll touch on a founder's history for a minute or two (and I understand you want to give a high level explanation of everything) but these full length biographies are also fun to watch.
Agreed, I like both of those. I'd like to see one about the Softsoap founder or at least the company. They pulled some good tricks back in the day.
I love that Orville always called it "popping corn". Just another charming feature of his gloriously dorky persona.
I always think of this particular scene from the X-Files when I hear the term "popping corn" 😂
S07.E14 "Theef": th-cam.com/video/Pu6WGIArq-Q/w-d-xo.html
@@jaimel88 Same. First popped into my mind as well.
@@Supperdude9 That's not "punny" bro.
@@jaimel88 Popping Corn lol !!!🍿🍿🍿😂😂😂
I live in Northwest Indiana. Orville Redenbacher is treated as royalty in my region. We have a popcorn festival every year with a popcorn parade that people use popcorn to build the floats, even a race called “The Popcorn Panic and Lil Kernel Run”. There is a bronzed statue of him right smack in the middle of downtown Valparaiso, sitting on a bench. He is celebrated every year and has been for over 40 years now. It’s so wild to me that the general population thought he was a character, while he is a legend to us out here. Great video!
Awesome video! Considering I grew up in Valparaiso Indiana and many of my friends worked for Chester (Orville's popcorn business) just outside of town, this video brought back some fond memories. One thing I want to add, the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival was started in 1979 to honor Orville. The festival continues today and is held annually on the first Saturday after Labor Day. Thank you for a blast from my past!
There's a popcorn festival?! How have I not known that. I live in Indiana and would love to go.
When my friend and I were in high school in 1977, we used the school payphone to call Orville Redenbacher's office- collect! They accepted the charges and put us through to him directly. My friend nervously talked to him for about 30 seconds. I was too scared. He was a super nice guy.
Great story!!
What did they talk about?
@@alukuhito She asked him how to prevent the "old maids" in her popped popcorn- those are the unpopped kernels. He told her it was a moisture problem and that she should keep her popcorn as dry as possible to avoid this.
@@margannaful Cool. Thanks.
My hometown of Valparaiso, Indiana had one of his factories early on. My father even grew it for him and knew him. The town has had a Popcorn festival for him since the 80’s I believe which he would come to. It still goes on each year and now we even have a statue of him downtown. Loved the video!
Yes definitely continue the series if you find any more people I remember when he did pass away one of my elementary school teachers was a glad to share his experience on meeting him I forgot this story details but I just remember how he was all happy to meet him.
This was the first brand of popping corn I ever tried way back in 1979! A friend from the USA brought it over to the UK for us. We were absolutely thrilled. Especially when it began lifting the lid off our pan with it's sheer volume!
Those were different times. They allowed you to bring seeds across international borders
@@googlegamer4047 well now we understand the impact that non-native seeds can have on ecosystems. They didn’t understand it as well then.
I would really like to see more videos like this, highlighting the lives and accomplishments of the people behind the brands. Your Chef Boyardee video is one of my favorites.
You really are one of the most consistent people on TH-cam. Every time I see you uploaded I know I’m in for a relaxing and informative treat. I really appreciate you.
Wow, thank you!
I love you, Company Man. You always produce quality informative videos. Thank you.
He sounds so depressed for some reason.
As a teenager of the 80's, I remember him on the commercials very clearly. It's the newer generation that believes he's simply a face on a box.
Kind of like the generation(s) before us seeing Colonel Sanders in commercials.
@@JL-sm6cg pretty sure everyonr knows colonel sanders was a real person
@@shift7808 some people think he's made up. There was actually an ad campaign where they got a bunch of different comedians to play him.
@@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770 Again, only people too young to know better.
My mom met the Colonel when she was young when they opened up a new Kentucky Fried Chicken in our hometown. Apparently he travelled to each grand opening of his new locations. She is 78 years old now so this was a long time ago, I think maybe early 1960's.
I remember watching hus commercials as a kid and actually can't remember a time where he wasn't a part of Saturday morning cartoons. I never turned away from his commercials because they were a part of the Saturday morning lineup for me. He was inviting like Mr. Rodgers but with the popcorn added. I didn't know about his history or how he died, I just remembered one day he was gone. I don't eat as much popcorn anymore but when we go shopping my kids ask for his only. Just his face and name on the box takes me back because those were happy innocent times before I had to grew up and life kicked in. I appreciate the time you put into making these videos but this one is simple and it means something to me.
I remember the commercials with Orville Redenbacher and had always heard he was just like Colonel Sanders and Chef Boyardee as opposed to Betty Crocker. I love the idea for the series. Stan Lee is someone I'd love to see featured since he was pretty much the mascot as well as force behind Marvel Comics. Walt Disney would also be interesting since he used to host the Wonderful World of Disney and was as well known as Mickey Mouse. Forrest Mars might not fit this theme but he was one of the most brilliant people in the history of prepared food and should be featured
Duncan Hines is also a very interesting character. Before his brand was a national thing he was a famous food critic that travelled all over the country. A fancy restaurant in the town I went to college in had a sign that said "Duncan Hines 5-star restaurant" still in the early 2000's and I didn't get it because at the time I only knew about the cake mix and not the actual man's history as a critic.
In 1976 my mom took me to Disney World in Orlando and Orville Redenbacher himself gave me some of his popcorn.
I remember there was a giant hot air balloon in the shape of a popcorn kernel and one segment of it did not inflate. It ascended and hovered for a bit and that was the last we saw of it.
All in all, as an 8-year-old kid, the only popcorn I will ever eat to this day is Orville Redenbacher. What an experience for a young child from Alaska!
I’m from Indiana and so many self-made people in the Hoosier state are like him - colorful, straightforward and unpretentious. My grandfather comes to mind. He had exactly those qualities.
Reading your comment made me remember that Dave Letterman is also from Indiana. So it really made sense that he would host Orville on the show.
i remmeber seeing his commercials as a kid, he reminded me of my grandpa. he has a special place in my heart! love you Orville!!!!!
Definitely love the idea, especially with the episode with Chef Boyardee
Cornel Sanders and Wendy would be my picks.
Wait that guy was real?
@@fredroberts8275 yes as I said Company Man already has an episode on him, hence why I like this idea
Do Dr Oetker next
@@dan44zzt231 The SS connection there might make that a little controversial.
I'm from Indiana and I did a report on Orville Redenbacher when I was in elementary school. He's a great guy and I've always loved his legacy.
His product is delicious too 😋
I know he is real, I had a project in Highschool about anything we wanted to share so I did it about Orville Redenbacher popcorn brand. I opened with "Raise your hand if you think this is a mascot" and everyone did. So I shared about how he started off and how it ended up today, it is a real shame that most people thinks that he is fake or just a marketing brand, its really sad.
Yeah, but he dressed that way and put his own name on the brand, so it's understandable that people would think he's just a character. Same probably goes for Colonel Sanders. I'm old enough to remember him being a real person, but there are many people now who have never seen him on TV or anywhere else.
Well, technically he was the mascot...and he was real.
I remember the commercials with him back in the 80s. Somehow I never got the impression that he was just a marketing person.
Great video, thanks for everything.
Awesome video, I love the idea of this being a series. Marie Callender or Duncan Hines could be good ones to feature in the future.
I watched this video six months ago when it first came out. Since then, his quote "Do one thing and do it better than anybody else" has really resonated with me. I have not forgotten it.
Today I had some Orville Redenbacher Popcorn for the first time. I went with their standard butter flavor. put it in our microwave for the recommended time for a minute and 30 seconds. I added about 10 seconds on to that.
What I got was a bag with all but five kernels popped, that had the least amount of scorching I have ever gotten out of a bag of popcorn I've put in this microwave. I suspect the extremely minimal amount of scorching was my fault.
I got to be honest, this is easily the highest quality popcorn i've ever had. These guys really knew what they were doing. It was a little more expensive yes, but everything about the product feels high quality. From the box, the bag to the popcorn itself, It really feels like I got my money's worth.
You know, I'm so cynical about brands typically. It seems like a lot of them just want money and want to provide the absolute cheapest, lowest quality possible product that the end user is still okay with receiving. I go to Burger King all the time and it seems like their food isn't cooked anywhere near long enough to be a great experience (unmelted cheese for example) but it is cooked long enough to be legal. They skirt the edge as much as they can to keep that bottom line.
This doesn't feel like that. This feels like a company that actually cares about the consumer. It's so crazy to still see somebody doing something like this in this day and age. I actually feel like I'm valued as a customer.
I doubt I will ever buy another brand of popcorn again. They just got another loyal customer.
It would have been a genius idea to have the Colonel and Orville team up to promote popcorn chicken
Popcorn chicken is not made with popcorn. The breading is just regular flour and seasonings. So Mr Redenbacher wouldn't be an appropriate mascot.
(Unless I'm the one making the popcorn chicken, in which case it IS made with popcorn. However, I use cheap discount popcorn because who cares how light and fluffy it pops up when you're just going to throw it into a high power blender and turn it to dust after popping it. I also season it with Flavacol, btw.)
I would never think popcorn chicken is made with popcorn. But the word play has so many possibilities. OR could say, "This chicken is really popping!" While holding popcorn chicken or the Colonel could say "I'd be a chicken if I didn't try this snack" while gesturing to a box of Redenbacher.
No, it wouldn't. We have enough crappy marketing gimmicks. This guy was the real thing.
This guy has no clue that popcorn chicken isn’t made with actual popcorn 😂
@@DOC_951 you have no clue Wordplay is an actual thing used in marketing
Orville Redenbacher is my brand of choice for microwave popcorn, so it’s really great to know more about the man behind the brand itself.
My wife would always buy PopSecret or Act II because she didnt want to spend the extra money on Redenbacher. one nighe we watched the popcorn episode on The Food That Built America, and she said "OOOOOKKKKK! Lets get some and see what the big deal is!" we bought the kernels in the container that you pop conventionally on the stove top, and the Redenbacher popping oil. we followed the directions EXACTLY, and virtually every kernel was popped, just like Orville promised. she LOVED it, saying how fresh it tasted, better than any popcorn she had ever had. As a comparison we also got JiffyPop, which was featured on the episode. im 10 yrs older than her (born in '75) and told her how i remembered my dad popping it on the stove (and burning it!!), and even remembered the jingle from the commercial. she then laughed when seconds later they sang the jingle on the show and called me old lol. ever since we have bought ONLY the Redenbacher brand, and have loved it
My family have loved Orville Redenbacher's popcorn since the 70s. We love it. I've always known he was real. He was on TV talk shows in the 70s all the time, Tonight Show, Mike Douglas, Dinah Shore. He was really famous even before the 80s
I first saw him as a mystery guest on To Tell The Truth.
I grew up in the 70's and 80's and I fondly remember Orville Redenbacher promoting his popcorn in commercials. I'm happy you did this story about him. I always felt he was a legend. Thanks!
Love when a new company man drops!
I actually met him at my college graduation in 1993. He gave our Commencement address..he was great! I popped popcorn at our movie theater for 4+ years, so he was kinda like a soul mate. I've been to Brazil more times than I can count. What a great guy..RIP.
I love your videos, man! This one just "popped" to the top of my subscription list, and I'm so happy you covered one of my favorite products. When I buy popcorn, it's always this brand, even though I guess it's now just part of Con Agra. Love the research you do on all these and always remember to give you a thumbs up.
Kirkland (Costco) brand is Orville as well! Had to check while watching! Love the episodes company man! Keep up the good work!
Side note to all of this: I think it's Presto that makes an Orville Redenbacker-branded hot air popper. I was given one in 2004 and it's still going strong to this day, having survived many, many moves and 18 years of use. I also occasionally see them in thrift stores, which means they kept working for someone until they after they still needed it.
They still make it, they also have an identical one that's not branded and a few dollars less. I have one that dates back to the late 70's, before the Orville branding, and it's still going strong.
wow air poppers I remember when those were a big thing, I think catalogs like Sears and JC Penny had them front and center for ages in their small appliances section. Some even had a little bowl/tray thing on top to melt the butter.
@@filanfyretracker My Orville/Presto one has a up at the top that's meant to measure out the right amount of kernels and then melt the butter once you get going.
Love the idea of this as a new series!
I knew the name Orville was real, but I did always think the mascot was made up, didn’t know the founder actually dressed like that. It’s great to learn about him, and great video as always.
I was fortunate enough to have been around when his ad campaign hit the television. They made it common knowledge that this guy was "real." It's sad to say that many have forgotten, but it's almost good to say that his product isn't advertised (much) anymore, because it doesn't NEED to be. It's the industry standard. I'm also glad that the "look alike" concept didn't take off, like it did with KFC. Orville Redenbacher and Col. Harlan Sanders were REAL people that need to be remembered. Thanks Mr. Man for posting this one.
I love this new series! Great video! Your admiration of Orville really shines through!
Damn, this video is really aging me. I'm 39 but distinctly remember his commercials in the late 80s/early 90s. I never heard the idea that some thought he was just a character.
Love these videos you make about the mascots/faces behind companies. Really informative and great stuff! For a long time I though Chef Boyardee was only a mascot and wasn't a real person until I saw your video! Thank you for the quality and well made videos.
Thanks for your videos. I really enjoy hearing them. I like your voice. It sounds like you sound genuine, as you are talking to a friend.
You made me get my popcorn kernels out of my pantry and actually look at the man on the label, I didn’t think i would be so emotional by a bottle of popcorn kernels but I am, great video, I think the story was told amazingly
loving the history ive been learning from your videos! great work keep it up really enjoyable!
I loved eating this type of popcorn all the time growing up! I had no idea Orville was a real person either!
I only became aware of him and his product in the 80's when his ads were followed by a female voice saying, "We're Beatrice." In an age when buyouts were so common, that was emblematic.
Great video. It's always good to know a little about the people responsible for your favorite brands.
Annie from Annie’s Mac and Cheese!!!! She’s a badass who said fuck corporate greed give me the bag and i’ll stay at my farm. And her husband is credited with inventing smart food.
If you're going to be making a series about people behind iconic brands, you've got to do Duncan Hines. He was before most people's times these days but he was the OG restaurant review man before his name ended up on cake mix.
Another good one to do would be Bob Evans
I knew Orville was a real person, but didn’t know much about the man himself. He is pretty inspirational! Love this channel, because the passion really shows! I’m team Orville now.
As an ΑΓΡ alumni, I’m proud to see another alumni getting recognition. Agriculture is so underrated
Ag Busness degrees...Unite!
Whatever, frat boy.
I once created a fighter on an online MMA simulation game. I called him Orville Redenboxer. His fight quote was “once you get popped, you get stopped”! At one time he was ranked in the top 10 of the game.
SmartPop was the only snack I could have when I was losing weight, down 55 lbs in 4 months!
Please continue this series!
Love the idea - Have you ever done the Wrigley family? That could be interesting.
I kinda suspected that Orville Redenbacher was a real person. I’m glad this video confirmed it.
I used to work in law enforcement. I've seen all kinds of horrible deaths, or the aftermaths of them. If I could pick how I go out, it would be "Eighty-eight and in a hot tub." This man could be a hero for that alone.
Dying during sleep still seems me the best way to go.
This was cool! Yes, the idea of covering more people in this way sounds great! Your videos are always enjoyable.
All your videos are interesting- I’ve always been a student of business- how they work- how they grow, and even sometimes, how they go extinct. I never fail to learn something new from your videos! Thanks for all you do!
There have been many real persons, like Orville, that create and promote their business creations.
Harlan Sanders, Sam Walton, Ray Kroc, to name but a few.
I remember the commercials in the 80's. Our Vo-Ag teacher in high school used to kid us about how Orville was a Vo-Ag teacher and agronomist and how our teacher would maybe strike it rich too. It's really pretty simple, Orville paid attention to the science of hy-bred seed corn that was exploding in the 1920's and 30's in Iowa with People like Henry Wallace and Roswell Garst changing farming forever.
Orville just paid the same attention to Pop Corn that people were to Field Corn and he and Bowman cornered the market.
For many years, Orville Redenbacher was the official popcorn of DisneyWorld. I’m sure they exposure helped as well. I remember seeing the logo on the popcorn carts in the parks. Disney changed to PopSecret in2015.
I was a kid in the 90’s and didn’t realize that I remembered that commercial with his grandson until I saw it. What a legend.
This is my favorite brand of popcorn!!! So good. One of my local movie theatres uses them. ♥
I already knew most of the stuff in this video, but I do love this format of covering 'mascots' that were actually real people. I enjoyed the previous video you did in this format on Chef Boyardee. Orville Redenbacher was awesome.
I knew he was and my family loves his popcorn so it's good to hear his story.
Definitely my favorite. Haven’t even heard of him until picking it up and having good popcorn
CM - "He died of the age of a heart attack at the age of 88 in a hot-tub."
Me - I'd like to think that he was partying with super-models.
Lol. Beat me to it. In a perfect world, his last words were "my popcorn isn't the only thing that expands 44x"
He makes them pop 😏
Orville Redenbacher's popcorn is the only brand I put in my microwave...it costs a bit more, but you really do get more popcorn versus the bargain brands. His story is the stuff American Dreams are made of!
I remember my grandfather made the stovetop popcorn all the time when I was a kid in the 80s. He insisted we only buy OR because it was so much better. Living in rural Ohio, my grandfather even planted a field of popcorn one year. OR was definitely the inspiration for that.
I had no idea that he was such a legend! Thanks as always for an informative video :)
Hands down the best popcorn outside a movie theater.
My grandfather was a lifelong fan of popcorn due to growing up in Indiana. He could tell you the best ways to cook it, the perfect ratio of salt and butter to popcorn kernels, and popped a whole pot multiple times a week. He was one of the earliest adopters of Orville Redenbacher's and swore that the brand was the best in the industry.
I've always thought of him as the "Mister Rogers" of popcorn. I feel like they would've gotten along quite well.
Lol wow that's last commercial was unsettling to say the least but I'm sure he's somewhere watching and laughing eating some pop corn. Another well done video.
now i want some popcorn 😂
Without knowing a single thing about popcorn and having never been exposed to the marketing (I was born and raised in another country), I discovered Orville's brand by pure chance. I quickly realized this was by far the best popcorn I've ever had. Now, I've learned the story and it's just as good as the popcorn itself.
This new series is a good idea, but I'd also love a series about the people who created or inspired famous fictional mascots as well (like the people who behind Betty Crocker or the Gieco gecko)
Don't try to tell me that gecko isn't real!!
I remember seeing the commercials as a kid back in the 90s and always being somewhat fascinated with him. You pretty much nailed it in the video, I thought maybe he was just some actor hired to sell their popcorn. Glad to see he was an actual person and a pretty good person too!
Yes, Virginia- there's was an actual person named Orville Redenbacher!
This bio video is a nice change from the usual videos Company Man does.
Great job on Orville. I own a movie theater and we sell exclusively Orville Redenbacher popcorn! It's great stuff, but the name brand recognition is good, too. Consider Col. Harlan Sanders or Famous Amos for the future. My first job was with KFC and I got the meet the Colonel!
Took something like popcorn and made more than a name for himself. Not a bad story
I love this series! And the popcorn brand brings such a warm nostalgic feeling flooding back to me. When I was a kid, it was such a treat to have a whole bag of the extra butter variety all to myself. I'd plant myself in front of the TV watching Kim Possible or something, have my popcorn, and just be happy as a peach. It was one of my favourite foods to munch on as a kid!
I think this kind of video is a great idea, would love to see more!
It is by far the best popcorn out there especially the natural flavor, no movie butter.
Please more of this series. This is one of your best videos to date!
I’d love if you could do a video on OLLIE’S Bargain outlet. Ollie is the mascot himself they put his photos all over the store, and they actually have a full mascot suit of him too for ads. And each store has a huge bobble head stature of him lol. But he actually committed suicide which is sad. I think his wife maybe continued the brand? There’s not many videos on OLLIE’s so would be cool to see :)
Never heard of Orville (not American) but he's my role model now, too. What a great dude.
The lord of popcorn .
Definitely do more! This was a fun watch
Man wrote 1984. Show him some respect!
This video is SO sweet, please continue the series! 😊
Definitely do the series. I'm down for it. Perdue would be an interesting brand to look at along those lines
BOILER UP BABY I remember learning about him at the popcorn festival in Valporaiso Indiana a few years back. Thanks for the awesome video!