The Late Infomerical King, Billy Mays, Rides Afront the HMS Bounty
The untimely sinking reminded me of the late infomercial king, Billy Mays, whom had shot a Mighty Putty Wood commercial, using the same ship as his infomercial "wow" prop. The 500 ton ship was being pulled by a cable held together with two oars bonded with the product and featuring Billy hanging from the front of the ship, doing his sales spiel (see deleted takes above). Billy passed away a little over three years ago, and at the time, there was a lot of talk about who would or could replace him as "the" pitchman for infomercial spots.
His Pitchmen tv series partner, Anthony "Sully" Sullivan, has done a fair amount of infomercials since Billy's passing. Sully can now be seen as the main pitchman for Telebrands, Mighty Putty and the line of Oxiclean products (Church and Dwight).
But even though Sully can be seen on your screen pitching the above products every now and then, I don't think he has filled the void left in the entire infomercial arena, by Billy Mays' passing. There are a few no name pitchers on some running ads, and a few old pitcher "retreads", but none have risen above the fray to become a dominant force.
Anyone disagree? I'd love to hear who you think is the resident infomercial king (or queen)...Or maybe who you think could be the replacement, if giving the pitching opportunity...
Also read my original blog post on the late Billy Mays (below) "Life's a Pitch" - July 2, 2009
http://www.newproductconsultant.com/1/post/2009/07/lifes-a-pitch.html