It's not clear who "everyone" is, but maybe McAlister is right. We're way, way past the time where resurrecting the deceased to hawk products was unseemly — Thank you, Dirt Devil! — and these ads won't misappropriate anything that Mays was famous for. He was a salesman, after all.
I'm curiously ambivalent. Should I hope that Mighty Tape sells out? Or sells none? Either way, it's going to be a little awkward to hear "Billy Mays here…"
How does this leave you feeling, PopWatchers? How much Mighty Tape can I put you down for?
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Absolutely everything you bring up in this item is valid, Jeff.
This is NOT the first (or last) time a dead celebrity will be used to help sell an item. More importantly, it shouldn’t be THAT bad, because these ads stay absolutely true to what Mays did and sell a product he almost certainly believed in.
Still, all I know is that I’ve seen old Billy Mays commercials on ESPN over the last week, and it just feels creepy. Once again, I think this item nails it: for me, it’s hearing him say “Billy Mays here…” My internal monologue can’t help but say, “Umm, no you’re not.”
Billy Mays would love that his name will continue to live on commercials. The man was all about building a legacy! He might be dead, but his image and his infomercials should live on. I think Mighty tape is doing the right thing! Live long the king!
I say continue to run Billy Mays’ ads. His family would benefit monatarily from the residuals.
I say continue to run Billy May’s ads. Let him family benefit monatarily from the residuals.
Well, at least he gets 30 days. Michael Jackson got, what, 30 seconds?
How long did KFC continue to run The Colonel Sanders after his death? I still see his old ads from time to time and it does not creep me out. Seeing Billy Mays pitch a product in an infomercial he made before his death is perfectly fine. Like it has been said, let him earn his family a paycheck!
I wouldn’t mind seeing Billy Mays on television. I miss the sound of his voice on TV. I watched the Pitchman tribute to him last night and cried. Let the family earn profit from his career, he wanted to give them the best life he could. He was a caring individual that wanted to make a difference in society, and he truly believed in all the products he pitched. I was not a fan of his until I started watching Pitchmen, and that’s where I learned to really enjoy his personality. Since he truly belives in the product, and won’t sell junk to the world; he has made me really want to purchase some of the products he’s featured. Bless his family, comfort them and know that he’s a guardian angel smiling down on them from heaven.
I’d be cynical about continuing to use Billy Mays commercials if I hadn’t watched Pitchmen. I truly think that Billy wouldn’t want his commercials to drop off the planet because he died. He want to keep selling from beyond the grave. As long as his family isn’t opposed to the spots airing (I haven’t heard anything one way or another) this seems like the right thing to do.
I had tears in my eyes at the end of the special last night when Sully couldn’t hold it in anymore. I have been blogging about him…It appears he was a hell of a guy and will be missed. I think by what Sully said he will keep the dream alive, possibly with Billy’s son. (http://dchambe61.blogspot.com)
I honestly think Billy is the one celebrity who would not object to being digitally scanned so he could pitch products for eternity. As long as the products were good, that is.
It’s my understanding that they have his widow’s blessing to run them, so as long as she’s okay with it, I think it’s fine. As other’s have said, after watching Pitchman last night I would say Bill would most DEFINTELY want the “show to go on”
Billy Mays’ job was to pitch those products. You could think of him as an entertainer who sold products on TV. I must admit that I watched those infomercials without ever buying any products so I must be getting something out of them. That or nothing else is on at 3am?
Anyway, I look at this the same as releasing a Heath Ledger movie after his death — I don’t see anything wrong with it.
We were huge fans of “Pitchmen” and are more interested in the status of the show on Discovery…will Anthony Sullivan continue with the show featuring other pitches & other salespeople? No one will ever match Billy Mays in style, conduct, charm…and the relationship between Sully & Billy was part of the show’s appeal, so I don’t know how good it would still be. That being said, I concur with the other posts – Billy’s heirs deserve the residuals of his last pitch, and any other pitches he did, just like the heirs of Elvis, the Beatles, Gene Rodenberry & any other media products that earn a buck deserve them – its what those men worked so hard for in life…and keeps a part of their memory alive. But it will still be hard to watch Billy & not miss him every time…
What is the difference in watching movies after an actor’s death or listening to the music of a dead artist. In fact people want to see and hear them more after their death than when they were alive. Look at Heath Ledger and Michael Jackson. How many of you have started listening and downloading MJ’s songs since he died? and what about the Dark Knight? Life goes on even after we are dead.
I hated Billy Mays’ voice and I never want to hear it again. I refuse to buy any product he pitched. When his commercials come on, I pause or FF my DVR.
They should really keep his ads on TV. I mean his family would like that and be a reminder that he was a good man..
I worked at HSN for 7 years; during that time I sat through hundreds of hours of Billy hawking everything from knives to the eternal oxyclean. I shall always remember his boundless energy and boisterous manner. He really loved selling and I believe that he would have loved the idea of selling products from beyond the grave. There will be no better memorial for Billy than the infomercial.
Coming back to second (or third) the sentiment that using any Billy Mays’ infomercials/commercials to make money is no different from releasing Dark Night after Heath Ledger died. No one would suggest re-shooting Ledger’s scenes from Darknight as a sign of respect. This isn’t exploiting Billy Mays’, it’s respecting his legacy.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! Retire this obnoxious style of commercial forever!
“Our feeling is, we don’t want to lost the money we sunk into making these commercial despite how inappropriate it is to show them,” Bill McAlister, president of Media Enterprises, told the AP.
Billy was a great pitchman. He was just reaching the height of his popularity. That beard was classic.
The ads should go on I see no problem with it. I would want it.
I confess to have always muted Billy when he was alive, but now feel guilty doing so out of respect for the dearly departed.
I think they should show the ads.After seeing his show every week,I think he would want the ad to be played.He always believed in what he sold.
I’ve grown to respect the late Billy Mays. I have no problem with this. I’ve even used Mighty Tape and the stuff is really good. I hope it does well.
Long live Billy Mays! And long live my laundry! We love you, Billy Mays!
I am so glad they will keep running the ads. I agree with everyone here that Billy Mays put everything he had into his hawking and it’s great to let it continue exactly as he would have wished. I’m sure he would also have wanted to support his family with the royalties as long as the ads can run profitably.
Based on watching the series Pitchmen, it also seems so true to the “hard numbers” nature of the industry to run the ads and see how the consumers vote. If sales drop off, that will be time to pull the ads. Otherwise, long live laundry and long live Billy’s advertisements.
you are all right..we will all miss billy and he would want his products to go on….with him pitching it…i spent sun and mon editing the mighty tape show…guys he was the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!bill mcalister owner of the mighty brand
Billy Mays is really going to be deeply missed. It seems that everyone that was good died that one week.
:(:(
GOOD BYE BILLY MAYS WILL MISS YOU MUCH
@DarkElfa
I’m really into infomercials (I know, it’s a weird hobby), and the president of the companies Billy sold products for sat down with his family and producers to decide whether or not to keep airing the ads, and the family agreed to it. Every time an ad airs, the Mays family gets royalties too, so it’s in everybody’s best interest!