Some companies have no shame. The Billy Mays commercials remind me of Weekend at Bernie's. I'm so focused on the fact that someone's actually using a dead man to pitch their products that I don't even remember the products. Totally tacky.

I say that if Billy's son is saying that his father would have wanted the commercials to continue airing and so is the rest of the Mays family, then nobody really has the right to judge. Those closest to Billy surely knew him better than any of us ever could have hoped to know him! And as for the products that he advertised? I have used and continue to use them daily because - surprise! - the productsdo exactly what they advertise -and then some! Why do you think that other companies are trying to copy them???

@calquist: I'm really cruious now because the commercial has only been being tested in very limited markets. Yet in the Pitchmen show, they always call the person who created the gadhet in and tell them whether it was a success or not. How can it be a success and the commercial be selling X million units if it's not even OUT when they film those scenes?

I watched a few episodes of Pitchmen this season. I will miss him. Although the chumming of the water while Sully was swimming was the stupidest thing I have ever seen.

@BuyingPowerTools_GitEmSteveDave: If I hadn't hearted you already, I'd have done so now. My mother tells me ALL THE TIME I'm going to be late to my own funeral! I was in a hurry to get here (almost born on the elevator) but I've been late ever since.

BTW I hope you're kidding about the will — IIRC they don't get read til AFTER the funeral. You might need to find another way to convey your wishes to make sure they are honored.

@lazypiranha: I think that was for effect. Most cellphones have a setting to "auto answer" if something is plugged into the headphone jack.

@Andrea Viera:

Amen, Billy is now making the bigest pitch of his career/life, to GOD, will miss you friend.

But wait! There's more! indeed.

@negitoro: youbastid wasn't saying that you are an idiot. The statement was that idiots buy the products.

I bet left-handed people buy his products too. Scintillating commentary, no?

@jpdanzig: Becasue he is a very successful salesman he is a whore?

I think you should be the one ashamed.

1) The advertisers feel (or at least at its introduction felt) the need to yell at me.

2) I have heard at best mixed reviews about it. Some people sweat by it, others swear at the thought that they ever bought it.

3) They have one of those annoying CamelCase names instead of just hitting the space bar.

And why would I use Arm & Hammer baking soda? It's just baking soda. I can get generic for far cheaper.

I did once have an Arm & Hammer baking soda shirt though, when I was six. It had a big plastic logo that sqeeked when you pressed it. I thought it was awesome at the time. It was by far my favorite shirt. Dunno if that counts for anything or not.

@600Followers_GitEmSteveDave: Still sounds like shouting to me. :)

I guess its OK as long as that Jupiter Jack thingie does not cause high blood pressure or heart disease.

Shame on Telebrands, shame on his family, shame on him...

Once a whore, always a whore obviously, even from the beyond.

I fear we may never be rid of this annoying huckster...

@youbastid: Oh, I get it. Kind of like idiots read dictionaries, buy Toyotas, drive on the interstates, and vote for Democrats.

How insightful.

Yet he's FILMING A COMMERICIAL while driving.

Unlike some of the other garbage being shilled on TV, some of the stuff Billy Mays sold *shock* actually works!

Parading dead people on TV isn't anything new, but this is a little different since it's so recent. But if they can put Batman: The Dark Knight up after a death of one of its cast members, surely a commercial can't be too different, right?

Anyway, my best wishes goes out. Pitchmen is/was a very entertaining show. It's the "How It's Made" for advertising.

You sure aren't, Billy. You sure aren't.

@youbastid: Yes, you said that the people that bought the products he advertised are idiots. Take pride in that; it makes you look like a genius.

I will be glad to see Billy Mays's infomercials for as long as they sell products. Sorry he died so young. Of all the deaths publicized this week, his was the one that saddened me, as it was so unexpected. Death from cancer, you're prepared for the news. Death from abusing drugs is expected. Death from very old age is natural. Heart disease/attack deaths often come abruptly, without warning, and blindside you.

Best wishes to Billy's wife, son, and daughter.

The Pitchmen TV show is very good.

@600Followers_GitEmSteveDave: nice rebuttal

@EinhornIsAMan!: Agree. I spent ~$75 on an allegedly "good" one for a cross country move as my car is old and doesn't have any aux inputs. Thing was completely useless in any city, and I would rate the quality at about 2/10 in the middle of nowhere; if you even looked at it the wrong way static would immediately kick in no matter what station it was set to (could be set to any station not just one or two). The only thing that's stopped me from selling it on craigslist is guilt from knowing I'd be selling a completely worthless piece of shit even though it would be nice to mitigate some of the $75 loss. My new car will definitely have a built in aux line...

@diasdiem: How about a cartoon version like they did with Col. Sanders?

There, I said it.

As as they have a quick message or disclaimer up front like 'Pre Recorded' or 'Recorded at an earlier date' . You want the commercial about the product and not Billy Mays . Some might accuse Telebrands as playing off the sympathy vote.

I agree with others thought especially after seeing Pitchmen I'd figure he would want it that way . And let's face it movies have been released with dead actors marketed as a last testament to their work .

I don't know would it be tacky to put something like Billy Mays 1958-2009 at the end of the commercial ?

But the product-man, this is old technology. Why the hell would I buy this? Ever heard of Bluetooth? I used to have an FM transmitter thing for my iPod-it was the worst-I could never get a could signal and the sound always sucked-now I just plug it directly into the stereo

FM transmitters

suck

balls

Actually, this is the first time I'm going public about it; hopefully it's safe, although I don't know if some of you are still upset about that

The greasy guy in charge of Telebrands is going to do what makes money no matter what that means. So you have his family that knows Billy wants the ads ran and you have the greasy guy who is only going to run the ads if he feels the public won't respond negatively. If these ads run it's because the family wanted it and because the public wants it.

The actual web site for them now lists the frequency as 99.3 so you might not be SOL.

@umbriago: They wouldn't "want it that way" if the backlash resulted in a deluge of angry phone calls.

His name is Billy MayS, not May. So its Mays' ad.

/gn

The night before Ed McMahon died, my girlfriend and I saw this commercial. I commented on how the movie preview guy had died recently (Don LaFontaine) and said "Hmmm...wonder when Ed McMahon will pass away?".

Little did I know that it would be within 12 hours. I felt somewhat responsible for it.

So hopefully they find a way to continue the show on to honor Billy and help more people.

The website says the total cost for 2 with shipping is $33.98

Other than that, they spent money on the commercial, they have a right to use it, and at least they're aware of the potential for backlash. It always irritates me when a company makes a monumentally stupid advertising decision and then seems surprised when it bites them in the ass.

@downwithmonstercable: Yea I hear you on that one, well minus the baby.

Plus - the additional money for his family wouldn't hurt anything either.

@gqcarrick: I was able to find past episodes on Torrent sites. I'll definitely be checking to find that episode though. I usually don't make it past 10. Having a baby and a corporate type job doesn't allow for the all nighters like in college :(

If they want to do it in a classy manner, they could take a page from St Jude Hospital, which ran a disclaimer prior to the spots they had shot just prior to Danny Thomas' demise, ststing that "The following is aired with the approval of his family" or some such.

Annoyance, wonderment why advertisers think they have to yell at me, and no small ammount of amusement that people buy the utter shit that these people hawk.

@rpm773: I've tried using it with my XM receiver before and it didn't work out all that great. At least in the Chicagoland area where there are lots of radio stations, I couldn't find a frequency that didn't experience considerable interference.

I take it back, and change "invariably" to "most of the time"

@600Followers_GitEmSteveDave: Dammit, I really hope they re run that a few times. I just moved and having no TV yet BLOWS!

@calquist: Yea but they had to change the name because the inventor didn't own the name blackjack, some other company did.

As for Pitchmen, I watched the finale last night, and I must admit, I cried at the end. I only wished I could have watched more episodes, but sometimes at 10pm, I was tired, and bed was more urgent.

Billy IS missed, and I think that fact that his family is wearing blue shirts at the funeral is a indication of how Billy felt.

I was getting requests from XM last year to buy some ferrous beads or some crap to neuter the modulator on my Roady radio.

And it seems like every device with a modulator I've used made within the last couple years (GPS device, Ipod device) barely works if at all.

@gqcarrick: I agree. As corny as many of the infomercials are, pitchmen really did help people with good ideas get their product backed and sold, which is very hard to do. And there arent many people as well recognized as Billy was.

Knowing that Billys family wants it because Billy would, I can't see why it would be a problem.

I'd hate to see everything Billy Mays just stop airing because he died....if being a pitchman is what he loved, then let him live long in infomercials, being remembered for doing what he loved.

I saw this on his show pitchmen, and actually wanted to buy it then! RIP BILLY, we'll miss you!

He will be missed. Pitchmen was a very underrated show, who knows what will happen now that Billy is gone.

Thinking Billy Mays was dead did not influence me for or against the product. I just thought it was weird that they kept using it and wondered if he had family who were weirded out by it.

For what it's worth. ;)