REVIEW An entertaining history of 'Newman's Own'

Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner ignored conventional advice.
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good," by Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, $23.95)
It all began as a lark. A famous actor and a cantankerous writer, a bucket of beer at their side, mixing a potion with a wooden paddle in a barn.
Paul Newman and A.E. Hotchner had no idea that the salad dressing they were making at Newman's Connecticut home to bottle as Christmas gifts would become "Newman's Own," a business with 77 products made in 15 factories in the United States and abroad.
"That bottle of salad dressing that we concocted as a prank in Newman's old stable twenty-odd years ago has had a hell of a ride," they write in a new book, "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good."
Newman, whose movie credits include "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Color of Money" and "The Verdict," and Hotchner an author of 15 books, including "Papa Hemingway," have donated more than $150 million in profits from salad dressing, popcorn, lemonade, spaghetti sauce and other products to charities. The products funded the creation of eight Hole in the Wall Gang camps for children with serious illnesses.
'Stupid and stubborn'
"Without realizing it, by being both stupid and stubborn we stuck to our guns, insisted on all-natural, no preservatives products, and in some small way caused an industry to change its ways," they write. "A camp we built in Connecticut for sick children has now been duplicated for afflicted kids all over the world."
Newman and Hotchner describe how in 1980 they decided rather than just distribute Newman's salad dressing at Christmas, they would offer it to a few local stores.
"He was almost crazed as he stirred the dressing with the wooden paddle," they recall. "And that is how our baby got started -- not in a manger, but in a tub -- not a wise man in sight -- a fading movie star and a cantankerous writer, but that was it."
The Verdict: Skepticism. Experts warned that celebrity products often fail.
"No offense, Mr. Newman. But just because they liked you as Butch Cassidy doesn't mean they'll like your salad dressing," one expert told them.
But they decided to do a taste testing at the home of a local caterer -- Martha Stewart. The results were favorable, although Martha suggested they add a fresh bay leaf to improve the flavor of the dressing.
Original marketing campaign
They shunned advice about expensive marketing campaigns, relying instead on Newman's celebrity status to draw widespread media coverage. Product launches often involved zany songs and other antics. The lemonade was based on a secret family recipe from Newman's wife, actress Joanne Woodward.
Newman decided donating the profits to charity also would boost interest.
Local sales took off quickly, generating interest from national retailers. Critics generally praised the quality of the dressing and subsequent products.
Customers also sang the product's praises, although not always for the intended reason: One said he accidentally discovered the dressing worked as a great shoe shine.
Newman chalked up the success to luck, risk taking and ignoring traditional corporate thinking.
Early donations went for a variety of causes, including a new bus for a school that taught children of migrant farm workers. But the men wanted their own project, and Newman came up with the idea of a camp for children with life-threatening diseases. The Hole in the Wall gang name was taken from the legendary hide-out of Butch and Sundance.
"I wanted, I think, to acknowledge luck: the chance of it, the benevolence of it in my life and the brutality of it in the lives of others: made especially savage for children because they may not be allowed the good fortune of a lifetime to correct it," Newman wrote.