Marketplace®

Daily business news and economic stories

It’s like Willy Loman, in reverse

Tonight, the Discovery Channel channel airs a Tribute to Billy Mays to say goodbye to the infomercial king. But honestly, Mays still has a long TV…

Tonight, the Discovery Channel channel airs a Tribute to Billy Mays to say goodbye to the infomercial king. But honestly, Mays still has a long TV life ahead. As Marketplace editor Betsy Streisand put it this morning, it’s the “un-death of a salesman.”

I’ve seen Mays’ old ads all over the place the last couple days, saying things like, “Hi, it’s Billy Mays, back again for…” It’s a little creepy, but the guy was (is?) a great salesman. TV and film do make you immortal.

But that’s not all. We have press releases like this one:

Today, Media Enterprises, the company responsible for the Mighty(TM) brand product line, announced that the last infomercials Billy Mays recorded before his death will be aired. The advertisements will introduce the newest additions to the Mighty product line, Mighty Putty Super Pack and Mighty Tape. Additionally, the company confirmed that Billy Mays television advertisements for Mighty Putty and Mighty Mendit will now resume after a one-week respite in advertising in recognition of the pitchman’s death.

I just hope they don’t pull an Orville Redenbacher and try to “recreate” Mays. That was definitely creepy:

Latest Episodes

View All Shows
  • Marketplace
    a day ago
    25:17
  • Make Me Smart
    a day ago
    28:36
  • Marketplace Morning Report
    2 days ago
    8:33
  • Marketplace Tech
    2 days ago
    10:26
  • Million Bazillion
    5 days ago
    32:45
  • This Is Uncomfortable
    3 months ago
    35:26