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At some point when Billy Mays was just advertising Oxyclean and a few other products, someone told me he had died. It took about a month of regular ads and some new products for me to figure this person was wrong or I had been confused about who he was talking about.
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. ;)
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He will be missed. Pitchmen was a very underrated show, who knows what will happen now that Billy is gone.
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I saw this on his show pitchmen, and actually wanted to buy it then! RIP BILLY, we'll miss you!
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@calquist: Yes, but every time they ran a name by the attorneys, they discovered it was already registered by another individual/entity. It was part of the drama for that ep.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-570288-100x100.png\")
@azsumrg1rl: Ah, I watched most of the marathon yesterday, but I dozed in and out. Clearly, I missed major points in that episode.
@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?
@calquist: Yea but they had to change the name because the inventor didn't own the name blackjack, some other company did.
As long as Billy Mays family approves, especially since they already acknowledeged that its what he would have wanted, I think its a great idea.
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.
Amen, Billy is now making the bigest pitch of his career/life, to GOD, will miss you friend.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-581631-100x100.png\")
@Andrea Viera: Same here, I'm not claiming I know the guy at all, but from everything you hear/read/see of him he seemed to really enjoy what he did. I think it would be a shame for his last commercial to never air, especially if his family has given their consent.
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Knowing that Billys family wants it because Billy would, I can't see why it would be a problem.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-186863-100x100.png\")
Not to be bad news bears but 88.7 is detroit's only somewhat decent radio station that I enjoy. Guess this thing isn't for me.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-907419-100x100.png\")
@post_break: @rpm773: No offense to Mr. Mays of course, I never thought much of him until right before he died (when he was on Conan). The guy displayed a good sense of humor and an ability to laugh at himself and not take himself too seriously.
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
@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...
@mizike: Yeah I had an \"iTrip\"-expensive as balls ($80!) and crap. Man, this totally destroys my image of Billy Mays as peddling stuff that actually works
@EinhornIsAMan!: I dunno ,I picked one up for five bucks on eBay and it works terrific. I have a feeling that while the concept may be old, the technology has been much improved.
@post_break: I'm sure it's taken here in Connecticut too. Damn near every FM frequency is, seemingly, which makes transmitters useless. (Hooray auxiliary inputs?) But hey, it's a decent idea, albeit one I'm sure I've seen before.
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It's not like I know Billy Mays, but, i did watch the show Pitchmen, and from seeing that I am 100% certain that he would want the commercial to air.
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@cristiana: I completely agree, it should air. He would have wanted it to, I'm sure of it.
Plus - the additional money for his family wouldn't hurt anything either.
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I wonder how well that thing really works. Hasn't the FCC recently cracked down on the strength of FM modulators in cars?
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.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-131723-100x100.png\")
@rpm773: Yeah they have cracked down, which is why they wanted you to Neuter your Roady, and why most XM and Sirius radios sold now have a totally weak transmitter.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-851357-100x100.png\")
@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 have been following Billy Mays III on Twitter [twitter.com] , and he has been saying his Dad would have wanted them to continue on. From what I gather from Billy's own Twitter page, and from him speaking, he wants to help people succeed. I think if he found out that someone wasn't getting the chance that he felt they needed and put hard work into, as well as the work he himself put in, THAT would be a tragedy.
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.
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@600Followers_GitEmSteveDave: Dang man, Im following him too, and I cried at the end too, but you already know this.
@600Followers_GitEmSteveDave: Dammit, I really hope they re run that a few times. I just moved and having no TV yet BLOWS!
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@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 :(
@downwithmonstercable: Yep, completely missed the show until last night, but I've already downloaded all the other episodes. Wonder if they'd still go on with the show if it's just Anthony Sullivan flying solo...
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@drjayphd: I'd surely hope so. Though Sully was more behind the scenes than anything, the show was helping people with their dreams, which is why Billy was doing the show.
So hopefully they find a way to continue the show on to honor Billy and help more people.
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I always find it funny whenever a person or group of people says \"that's the way he would have wanted it,\" because invariably, that's the way THEY want it as well.
@youbastid: You also have to consider that Billy essentially worked as an actor-for-hire. Someone paid him to film that commercial, so there is also contract obligations for showing the commercial.
@silver-bolt: Many people are paid for things that never get shown. People are paid for scripts that are never filmed. The only obligation he had was to film it, and they have already run it on air before his death, at least according to the article.
@600Followers_GitEmSteveDave: The only obligation he had was filming it, and not interfering with his client's right to show it. As an actor or contractor for hire, your rights to the work produce end with payment and adherence to contract terms. Even if He and the family wouldn't want it aired, the family should not insist on forcing them not to air it, unless they want to honor his memory as a backdealing shady worker.
@silver-bolt: are we going to be capitalizing pronouns whenever referring to Him from now on? Because, I gotta say, if you feel that way about Him, I think He would have been kind of disconcerted.
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@youbastid: Actually, although true a lot of the time, I know that wasn't true in my family recently. My grandmother passed away last summer and she and my mother went about and thought about things very differently, and yet my mother and I decided to carry out things the way \"grandma would've wanted\" even though it involved stuff we'd rather not have done (family issues, etc). Still, I think a lot of people do follow what you're talking about. Sorry, I'm not trying to be contrary, your comment just made me think about it for a little while.
@ajlei: Wait till my next o' kin reads my will. There's an instruction that my body be late to the church, in recognition of me NEVER being on time.
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@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.
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@600Followers_GitEmSteveDave: My person wants me to kick his urn at the funeral, spilling his ashes everywhere. He thinks it'll be hilarious.
@ajlei: That's good - comments are supposed to make people think :)
I take it back, and change \"invariably\" to \"most of the time\"
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\"His family would have wanted it that way,\" but Telebrands certainly wants it that way. Otherwise all those production costs go down the drain like so much Orange Glo. Sort of like when Bennett Cerf died.
You know as much as people dislike infomercials and commercials in general, I've never known anyone who disliked Billy Mays. I think it's appropriate to continue to play his infomercials after his death.
@Cant_stop_the_rock: I disliked his commercials. I thought he shilled garbage and I actually don't know a single person that said a positive word about his style or what he sold until after he died. YMMV. But the way I see it, he pandered to the lowest common denominator and he was good at it, because idiots buy things.
There, I said it.
@youbastid: Count me in as an idiot.
Unlike some of the other garbage being shilled on TV, some of the stuff Billy Mays sold *shock* actually works!
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@negitoro: But the thing with shilled products is, of course they'll work. He could have sold orange-colored Windex and it'd \"work\". Likewise this product \"works\" (see above comments about how poorly this genre of products work, or on the next page for how handsfree vs handheld phones are a wash when examined for safety). Or scrub pads. Or anything else he shilled.
Whether they work better, or are a value, or if its a matter of people naively thinking since it's on TV - loudly and a lot - it must be true, are all fair topics on a Consumer-focused blog. And whether the latter people are of suboptimal intelligence - within this context - is a fair topic to broach.
Attacking someone personally for observing that a certain class of people that make data-free, emotional purchasing decisions, then getting offended when called on it seems, well, idiotic.
@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.
@HiPwr: Actually, that's not what I said. I said idiots bought his products. You know, like saying racists tend to support Republicans. It certainly doesn't mean all Republicans are racist. But way to spin it!
@youbastid: Oh, I get it. Kind of like idiots read dictionaries, buy Toyotas, drive on the interstates, and vote for Democrats.
How insightful.
@Cant_stop_the_rock: I don't dislike Billy Mays, but I found his commercials to be incredibly annoying, so much so that I vowed never to buy a product that he was involved with. That said, I found the man himself to be pretty interesting when I caught Pitchmen when flipping through Discovery once. He seemed like a really genial guy.
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I react the same way I react to any billy may's ad:
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.
@WiglyWorm: Yes. I find the ads really annoying but I dislike loud in your face commercials. I am always a bit amused at some of the things they are selling and that anyone buys them.
Sorry the guy died, he sounds like he was a nice person. I don't miss the commercials.
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@Trai_Dep: I think Vallyval's point was that Church & Dwight (A&H's parent company) thought enough of the Orange Glo and OxiClean products to buy their maker--AND keep their best known spokesperson (Billy Mays) for other A&H products.
@valleyval: Why would I use OxiClean?
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. :)
@WiglyWorm: Contrary to popular belief, apostrophes do not mean \"OH 'SHIT! Look out! Here come's an 'S!\".
His name is Billy MayS, not May. So its Mays' ad.
/gn
@WiglyWorm: ...Or think that because they've seen his blaring face 12,567 times on TV, he's their BFF.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-816950-100x100.png\")
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.
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Billy Is Not Dead. He is just recording comeback ads...
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Oh,please. They spent the money making this commercial and now they are going to cash in on Billie Mays' death. Bad taste and typical business thinking.
@savdavid: How is it bad taste to continue with the families permission? This commercial had already aired, and was featured on the Discovery Channel show. I suppose you think people still selling Michael Jackson albums are doing it in bad taste?
Its kinda creepy, but hey he pitched for a living and i think it could be kind of rude to not air his last pitch at least once.
Just so long as they don't go back and make more commercials with a CG version, like they did with Orville Redenbaucher.
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.
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Normally its just a throwaway line we use to justify our doing whatever we want, but Billy Mays WOULD have wanted it that way. He was a showman and a consummate professional.
@gparlett: In the season finale, he had a pitch-off w/Sully, and even with cheating/rigging by Sully, Billy came out on top.
Did anyone else find it oddly funny when he said it was hands free, then reached over and pressed a button to answer the phone?
@lazypiranha: I found it more amusing how he was trying to pass it off as being safe in the car...
Yet he's FILMING A COMMERICIAL while driving.
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@negitoro: Whenever they film people \"driving\" (not just in informercials, but on TV, in movies, etc.) what they really do is have the car on a platform, a flatbed truck, or some other setup. The person behind the wheel is not really \"driving,\" someone else is.
@negitoro: If you watch Pitchemen, he was on a rig, IIRC. They made him do it a couple of times b/c he really didn't look like he was driving a few takes.
@lazypiranha: I think that was for effect. Most cellphones have a setting to \"auto answer\" if something is plugged into the headphone jack.
The only thing left to do is to put him on the stage with Gene Wilder and have him sing \"Puttin' on the Ritz\".
...Just as a family of jackals would insist that their slain son would have wanted them to drive their snouts in the belly of the wounded baby gazelle and start chomping madly until sated.
And they'd be right.
Really, not much difference.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1150916-100x100.png\")
The price on the website is $20 for 2, not $10 like the Billy says.
The website says the total cost for 2 with shipping is $33.98
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Oh, man, I hope that don't build that building I designed if I should die before it's finished.
I can't get out of my head the ad featuring Fred Astaire, years after his death, dancing with a vacuum cleaner. I thought that was the ultimate in bad taste but what the heck...the bottom is still far away.
@youbastid: If you watched the tv show and saw how upset the guy was about Vince stealing his shammy and chop thingy commercials, you would pretty much agree this guy would want his commercials ran.
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.
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 ?
I saw that commercial on HGTV in Canada a few days ago, so it's already airing. I mean, he's just as dead up here, but apparently they don't care about that - only Americans might be offended?
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-917643-100x100.png\")
@Kitty Cartouche: They tested it in a few markets before going nationwide--must be you live in one of them. Or maybe Canada is their test market.
@Kitty Cartouche: Or that, considering the frequency of polar bears found sneaking into Canadian homes, or killer whales birthing in Canadian swimming pools, that Canadians are a more hardy stock familiar with death... I won't even bring up the whole \"setting grandpa on the iceflows when his Wii skills deteriorate too much\" thing, out of sensitivity to other cultures and peoples.
\"Safely talk and drive at the same time\"? Actually, the reason using a cell while driving is unsafe is because it reduces your attention to the road, not because you're not holding the wheel. Handsfree car phones are no safer than holding the cell phone in your hand (or eating while driving, changing your radio, or any other attention-reducing activity). In fact, using a handsfree device can be more dangerous than drunk driving.
This will not be the first time a commercial will air after the pitchman has died. Robert Urich, the prolific actor (starred in the TV show Spencer for Hire) promoted the Cybersonic toothbrush before his death in 2002. Three months after his death, with his family's permission, the commercials began airing again, with mention that it was what his family wanted. (It's a pretty good toothbrush, btw.)
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.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-369496-100x100.png\")
\"I'm still not done!\"
You sure aren't, Billy. You sure aren't.
Really, I think the show Pitchmen puts it all into perspective. You get a feel for the mounting issues with trying to push a product in front of millions of consumers. There was a lot of time and money put into this infomercial and to see his (Billy Mays) last gig get shut down would be a shame. There's a lot at stake too, not just for Telebrands and it's employees to make a wage, but also the person who's producing the product. I would have liked to see what he thought of this decision was in this mater, but I'm sure he agreed.
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.
I remember the episode where they were trying to get this product off the ground and IIRC they weren't too keen with it when they tested it.
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...
@jpdanzig: Woah!!! WTF have you no respect for the dead! Billy Mays wasn't a whore,he was a man who was good at his job (selling things) he loved what he did and seemed to be an awesome guy in general.
YOU SIR SHOULD BE THE ASHAMED ONE< FU** YOU!!
@jpdanzig: Becasue he is a very successful salesman he is a whore?
I think you should be the one ashamed.
I guess its OK as long as that Jupiter Jack thingie does not cause high blood pressure or heart disease.
Even though I've never bought anything from them, I do watch infomercials from time to time. From what I've seen of him, he would want to continue pitching from the beyond and probably is getting a kick out of it.
But wait! There's more! indeed.
Robert Urich was still pitching sonic care for at least a year, if not more, after his death.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-142852-100x100.png\")
I have to agree, I believe that, as a salesman, Billy wouldn't have wanted this to go to waste
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1094997-100x100.png\")
After watching a season of 'Pitchmen,' and learning that he even pitched products during his own wedding, I do believe he would be completely cool with the commercial going forward. He did what he loved, and he adored being known for it. And if he could sell more stuff from beyond the grave than Vince 'Slap-Chop-Ow-That's-My-Face-You're-Biting' the ShamWow guy who's still living, well, Billy would be doing the celestial happy dance.
I say go for it, give Billy one last run!
When I first saw there was going to be a series about pitchmen, I scoffed. After Billy passed I decided to DVR the marathon. It really does shed a lot more light into what goes on other than just some guy on tv selling a product. The one thing I wish they did was talk more about analyzing their results, but maybe that's more of a secret. I think much better of Billy after having seen the series.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-6171-100x100.png\")
Right as I closed this tab a commercial for \"fix it\" came on. I wonder why he didn't scratch up his Bentley for the spot?
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.
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???
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.
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Well this pops up every now and then:
@I Love New Jersey:
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.