The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe - 28: An Incredible Reinvention

Episode Date: August 2, 2016

When no one wants your product, don't change the product, change the name.

Toccovis is the go-to for premium handcrafted Western boots. Stop by any store location for a warm welcome, a cold drink in hand, and a truly one-of-a-kind shopping experience. Let our friendly staff help you find your new go-to boots, whether your first pair or your 50th. Finish things off with a complimentary boot brand to make them extra special. Come for the boots, stay for the good times. Ticovis, Forever West.

This is the way I heard it. Bob was confused. In his office sat a man named Joe with a product that cleaned wallpaper. Joe wanted to advertise his product on Bob's show, but Joe had no money to pay for a commercial. Moreover, Joe didn't seem to understand that Bob's audience was comprised mostly of seven-year-olds. So Bob's confusion was completely understandable. Even if you could afford to advertise on my show, said Bob, why would you want to? Why would a kid want wallpaper cleaner?

These were fair questions, all posed with a measure of incredulity entirely appropriate for the moment at hand, because not only did Joe have no advertising budget, he wanted Bob himself to actually demonstrate the product on television in exchange for a small percentage of future sales. It was, without question, the craziest pitch Bob had ever heard. So why did Bob ultimately agree to Joe's proposal? The answer starts a generation earlier, back when everybody's home was heated with coal. Remember that scene from a Christmas story? When the old man is downstairs cursing at the furnace,

while Ralphie and his brother watched black smoke billow out of the vent and up the kitchen wall? Remember those smudges all over their wallpaper? That was the price we all paid for staying warm in the winter. dirty wallpaper. From Main Street to Wall Street, wherever there was wallpaper, long, dark ribbons of soot arched up from the floorboards to the ceiling, creating bold new patterns on otherwise tasteful designs. The soot was simply impossible to remove without destroying the paper underneath. But Cleo McVicker claimed to have a revolutionary solution, and he was on the verge of selling 15,000 cases of McVickers' wallpaper. cleaner to the Kroger Corporation. But the Kroger executives were skeptical. How could a little soap

company deliver on such a massive order so quickly? So to put their minds at ease, Cleo agreed to pay Kroger a $5,000 penalty if he missed the deadline by a single day. Kroger placed the order, and Cleo was ecstatic. There was just one issue. That revolutionary wallpaper cleaner, Cleo agreed to deliver? Yeah. That didn't exist yet. Basically, Cleo sold a product before he invented it, which is a great way to keep things exciting. In today's money, that $5,000 penalty was more like $100,000. Far more than Cleo could afford to lose.

So, with the clock ticking, Cleo began experimenting with dozens of concoctions from countless chemical combinations until he finally hit on the magic recipe. A thick white paste that removed the... the soot from the walls without leaving a residue or tearing the paper underneath. Cleo made his deadline, barely, and before long, McVickers' wallpaper cleaner was available in stores from coast to coast. But, of course, in business and in life, the winds of fortune blow in all directions. Not long after Cleo struck it rich, natural gas came along.

That meant no more soot, and then came vinyl wallpaper. That meant no more need for revolutionary wallpaper cleaners. And then came a tragic plane crash. And that meant no more Cleo McVicker. So what do you do with a leaderless company that sells a product that nobody needs? That was the question now facing Cleo's son, Joe, the young man who suddenly found himself in charge of his late father's company. The same Joe, who was now trying to pursue.

one of America's most trusted TV personalities to personally demonstrate an obsolete cleaning product to a national audience of children in exchange for 2% of future sales. As we know, Bob eventually said yes, and it's a good thing he did. Before long, that same obsolete product that had been sitting on the shelf at 35 cents a pound was suddenly flying off the shelves at $1.50 a pound. Why? Partly because they changed the packaging, partly because they changed the color, and partly because they changed the odor. But mostly, it was because Joe saw his dad's product for what it really was. And that is how Bob Keishon made millions and millions of dollars.

He played with a cleaning product on TV as millions of kids watched in wonder. and that's how Joe McVicker wound up selling one billion cans of his dad's wallpaper cleaner by putting it in the hands of the one and only Captain Kangaroo and calling it something a nation of children might actually enjoy. Play-Doh. Anyway, that's the way I heard it. If you work in University Maintenance, Granger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for time.

tip off, and Granger is your trusted partner. Offering the products you need all in one place, from HVAC and plumbing supplies to lighting and more, and all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock, so your team always gets the win. Call 1-800 Granger, visit granger.com or just stop by, Granger, for the ones who get it done. The ocean delights us as playful otters restore coastal kelp forests.

The ocean teaches us how our choices impact even the deepest places. The ocean connects us. Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium.org slash connects.