Why A Popcorn Icon Paid An Advertising Company $13,000 To Name His Company After Him
Orville Redenbacher paid a huge sum to professional marketers to rename his company, and they settled on a surprisingly simple option
Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The kindly (now deceased) older man with the signature bow tie’s buttery snack food has long been established as a widespread favorite for many. Although the eponymously named company seems like an obvious form of advertising, it actually used to be known as something else and its founder surprisingly paid a public relations firm $13,000 to rebrand it under its current simple name.
As an Indiana farm boy, Redenbacher grew up selling popcorn from his family’s farm out of the back of their car. This gave him his first exposure to working with the crunchy snack After going to college, he began a career in agriculture and business.
In 1951, Redenbacher and his business partner, Charlie Bowman, purchased the George F. Chester and Son seed corn plant in Boone Township, Indiana. Despite Redenbacher’s background in agronomy and plant genetics, his past connections with the Chester family and his love of popcorn led him to explore this new venture.
