AMANA, Iowa — It’s been 30 years since the first household microwave oven was introduced to families across America. Hailed as a technological breakthrough and criticized as a gimmick that would ruin the fine art of cooking, the Amana Radarange was debuted in Chicago in 1967 as a product that would forever change how Americans eat and cook.
The microwave oven has come a long way since then. Today, more than 90 percent of America’s households include a microwave oven. And, in a recent Yankelovich Partners study, Americans ranked the microwave oven as the No. 1 technology that makes their lives easier, right ahead of the telephone answering machine and the automatic teller machine (ATM). According to Dixie Trout, Amana vice president of consumer communications, many Amana engineers envisioned the microwave oven replacing the conventional oven.
Introduced in 1967, the Amana Radarange microwave oven
would forever change the
way American families prepare meals.
“It was a time of astronauts, instant Tang orange drink and TV dinners,” says Trout. “And many appliance manufacturers, such as Amana, aimed to take the drudgery out of the typical homemaker’s life and replace it with the modern conveniences of the ‘home of the future.’ In reality, it was the dawn of the ‘Supermom,’ which was spurred by the large number of mothers who entered the workforce.”
“In retrospect,” Trout adds, “while the microwave oven did not replace the conventional oven entirely, we now have an entire generation that’s grown up with the microwave oven, and have come to rely upon it just as much as their PCs and cell phones.”
The first Amana Radarange microwave oven was powered by a 115-volt current, says Trout, and it featured just two buttons, “start” and “light.” It also included two control knobs, one for cooking times up to five minutes, and the other for longer cooking times up to 25 minutes.
Demonstrating just how far microwaves have evolved, today’s Amana microwave oven line features a unit with 1,000 watts of cooking power and electronic controls with pre-programmed pads. According to Trout, it cooks food in half the time, costs 50 percent less, and features a contemporary, streamlined design compared to the bulky, sterile look of the original model.
To say the Amana Radarange oven changed the landscape of American cooking and eating is an understatement. “It sparked a revolution,” says Marcia Copeland, director of General Mill’s Betty Crocker Kitchens. “Not only did it allow us to cook food quickly, it also offered us the opportunity to make food we might not have because of our busy lifestyles — especially in the area of snacks, such as microwave popcorn.”
“The microwave also paved the way for new food products that children could prepare safely,” Copeland adds. “Parents feel comfortable letting kids prepare after-school snacks or starting dinner with the microwave.”
“The microwave oven is the No. 1-rated technology in our Monitor research for making people’s lives better,” says J. Walker Smith, managing partner, Yankelovich Partners. “It’s moved from giving people instant gratification to making life easier, which fits perfectly into the lives people are trying to lead today.”
Smith notes, “Our research shows that nowadays people of all ages are trying to strike a balance between work and personal activities. The home has become a sanctuary from life’s stresses. And the microwave oven is important to this because it makes it possible for family members to spend less time in the kitchen and more time in the family room.”
The microwave oven also has dramatically modified kitchen design, adds Ann Steiner, who writes a nationally syndicated column on microwave cooking with CiCi Williamson. “When it was first introduced, the microwave oven was considered a gimmick. Today, it’s as essential as the kitchen sink. It’s no longer resting on the counter — many people purposely plan their kitchen remodeling projects around the microwave oven.”
Beyond the confines of the home kitchen, the microwave oven’s impact has been felt in a number of other ways. For example, the fast food and food service industry heavily rely on microwave ovens to meet the demands for quality food served fast.
“At Amana, we pride ourselves on developing high quality, innovative products,” says Trout, “but no one here in 1967 could have imagined the enormous impact the Radarange has had on American society. Who knows what awaits the microwave technology in the years to come.”
Capturing the Public’s Attention, Interest
Amana introduced the world’s first 115-volt countertop microwave oven in 1967. Geared specifically for consumer use, the product sold for $495 retail.
Because microwave oven technology was so unconventional, Amana executives sensed that the new product didn’t stand a chance in the marketplace without a massive effort to educate appliance retailers and consumers.
After a year-long effort of educating wholesalers and retailers, Amana launched the Radarange with a massive, nationwide media blitz that kicked off in Chicago. Amana invited reporters and homemakers to tour the city’s suburbs, while Amana hosts served coffee, reheated meals and made popcorn.
In addition, a specially trained home economist arrived at the homes of Chicago homemakers to help them install their Amana Radarange and cook the family’s first microwave meal. She was on 24-hour call for each of her clients for the first year of the launch. A serviceman also was on call, guaranteed to show up within an hour, if there were any problems.
The campaign was a success and the age of microwave cooking was launched. Throughout the 1970s, Amana continued to improve the microwave oven, adding new features, and improving the microwave’s cooking capabilities.
Today, Amana markets a variety of microwave ovens with up to 1,000 watts of cooking power and a wide array of conveniences. Portable, efficient, safe and economical, few gourmet or fast food cooks of the 1990’s can imagine life without a microwave oven.
For more information on Amana appliances or to locate your nearest dealer, contact Amana at 1-800-843-0304. Or, check out the Amana web site at www.amana.com for additional product and service information. (ARA)
Founded in 1934 in Amana, Iowa, Amana Home Appliances offers a complete line of products that generations have come to trust for their timeless design, craftsmanship, performance and innovation. Amana appliances, which include refrigerators, freezers, ranges, wall ovens, cooktops, Radarange® microwave ovens, dishwashers, washers and dryers, room air conditioners and dehumidifiers, are sold by major retailers and independent appliance dealers across the United States.
Editor’s note: Interviews with Dixie Trout, Amana vice president of consumer communications, are available by contacting Stephen Dupont, Carmichael Lynch Spong, 612/334-6235, or by e-mail at sdupont@clynch.com.
Courtesy of Article Resource Association, www.aracopy.com.
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