Favorite Infomercial Host

[NSL]

We all watch them. We all also deny watching them. So, who is your favorite infomercial host? Is it Joe, the owner (or whatever he really is) of Girls Gone Wild? Or, is it Montel Williams, and his new pulsating blender? Maybe it's the knife guy. Or George Foreman and his fancy grill.

Not me. My favorite is Bridgetta Tomarchio. Who? Her:

Spoiler: Bridgetta

Yeah. The chick form the ExtenZe commercials, the one with icy hard nipples and absolutely nothing interesting to ask. Why? Because there's absolutely no reason for a guy to watch, or buy their product. If a guy has a "problem", the solution will not be found by watching an infomercial at 3a. It'll be found by going to the doctor and getting a prescription. But, because her funbags are out there, you watch, and you listen to the horrific sex stories, and next thing you know, the sun is up, and you have a life to live.

 

[The Doctor]

For me, there is no contest. It is the man, the legend, Billy Mays.

Billy knew the art of the pitch. He genuinely believed in his products, and his TV show was great fun to watch.

He seemed like such a nice, approachable guy, and that is key in advertising. He had to sell his product, and make you want to buy, and I can honestly say that he did. I've always wanted some Mighty Putty, but have no desire to buy a Snuggie. That's talent.

I'm going to miss him. I'm just glad they're replaying his commercials. It's just a shame Pitchmen won't be getting any new episodes.

 

[NSL]

Approachable? I picture the meeting going like this:

"Hey, look honey, it's Billy Mays."

"HI! BILLY MAYS HERE!"

*Your eardrums explode, and you're deaf*


I'm not happy at all that he passed away, but I am happy that when I'm lying in bed at 4 in the morning, I won't be kept awake by him hawking some product that only works under the perfect conditions of the commercial. His voice got irritating after a while, and it sucked seeing the same thing over and over and over again.

 

[The Doctor]

Approachable? I picture the meeting going like this:

"Hey, look honey, it's Billy Mays."

"HI! BILLY MAYS HERE!"

*Your eardrums explode, and you're deaf*


I'm not happy at all that he passed away, but I am happy that when I'm lying in bed at 4 in the morning, I won't be kept awake by him hawking some product that only works under the perfect conditions of the commercial. His voice got irritating after a while, and it sucked seeing the same thing over and over and over again.

A) Why would you have the TV on at 4 in the morning?
B) No, the meeting wouldn't go anything like that judging by the stories I've read.
C) I've been living in Italy for the past four years and we don't get commercials over there, so I didn't have a chance to be overexposed.

The thing about Billy was that people recognized him. They recognized the person by name, which is better than anything Vince Offer has done. Offer is known as "Shamwow Guy", and saying his name usually results in some blank looks.
Not so with Billy. He was recognizable, and that's important. People watched because of who he was. That's something extremely important in getting the audience to care. If they care about the guy selling, they care more about the product. If Forbes Riley died tomorrow, I doubt people would be all broken up about it. People would probably say "Who?", and go back to eating their bagels. Probably wouldn't even get on the news.

 

[NSL]

They recognized the person by name, which is better than anything Vince Offer has done. Offer is known as "Shamwow Guy", and saying his name usually results in some blank looks.

Actually, Vince is doing all of the same infomercials that Billy was doing. Including the Shamwow and Slapchop.

And saying "Don't you know who I am? I'm the Shamwow guy!" got him a lot more than dirty looks. In case you never heard about it, he told a hooker that, and she kicked his ass, bit into his face multiple times, and then smacked him in the head with the phone. There's pictures online of that.

How can you kick a guy when he's down?

 

[The Doctor]

Pffffffft, wrong. Vince is doing infomercials for two rip-offs of Billy's products. The Shamwow is a rip-off of Zorbees. Same with the Slap Chop and the Quick Chop. Maybe there are slight differences, but Billy did them first.

And, you said it yourself. Vince Offer either gets blank looks or gets beaten up. He isn't loved like Billy was.

Billy had it all. He had the look, and the voice, and he made his commercials memorable. If a commercial and indeed a pitchman can stick with the potential customer long after the commercial is over, that is a good thing. Billy was the best at that.