Season 2 of PitchMen Premieres Tonight!

Tonight is the premier of the second season of PitchMen, starring direct-response marketing guru Anthony Sullivan, and replacing Billy Mays will be his son Billy Mays III. I came into this show expecting not to like it. I'm not a fan of reality TV, and although I liked Mays as a pop culture icon, I still didn't know much about him as an ad man. I expected to have turn down the volume, and honestly, not much else. What I got was a show that's both an interesting and educational exploration of today's advertising world.

Here are a couple clips from episode seven of season one that reveal a few interesting and touchy angles on the advertiser/client relationship.



When Mays passed away last summer, I'll admit the thought crossed mind that I'd seen the last episode of PitchMen, so kudos to Discovery Channel for picking up the second season of a pretty enlightening show, despite the fact that it would no longer have it's energetic star power. Hopefully it will turn out more like The Hogan Family than News Radio.

Now Mad Men is an intriguing, tightly structured, well-written examination of the business world and societal structure of the 1960s. While PitchMen is a direct look into a monstrous part of the advertising industry that rakes in billions every year. Matt may be attempting to hurl a stapler down the hall as I write this, but if I had to choose between the two, I'll take some ad lessons from PitchMen and ask my parents about the 60s. Besides, Matt doesn't have a stapler. He always walks down the hall to borrow mine.

Tune in to Discovery Channel tonight at 9 p.m. Warning: You might learn something.

--George C. Convery, Copywriter

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Where's BIlly Mays: I Didn't Even Make It Past the First Round

Halloween is nearly a month old, but I'm finally getting around to recounting the results of the Where's Billy Mays "HallowClean" contest. And Sadly, yours truly didn't even make the top 500. A travesty I'm sure. If you weren't aware of the contest, you probably should leave your cave once in a while, or at least use the wi-fi in your cave to visit some other websites. I heard about it through WOM, but the contest was covered by a variety of media outlets from TMZ to the Huffington Post to People. And according to his son, Billy Mays III, the contest received more than 1500 entries, including this, that I took in our pristine Renegade men's room.

The awesome thing is, I was planning this costume since last Halloween. And the Kaboom, did I buy it at the grocery store just for this special day? No, I took it right out from under my counter. And the next day I used it to clean my shower, which had turned a lovely shade of black from the combination of hairspray and mascara I used to get the full Billy Mays effect.

You can view the finalists at wheresbillymays.com. I'm not quite sure what put those 3 winners over the top. Personally, I loved the Billies who paired themselves up with full-sized bottles of Kaboom and tubs of Oxi-Clean. But I am jealous I won't get the autographed picture to frame and put on my bare office wall. Too much time being brilliant, no time to decorate. On the bright side, I did win our office Halloween contest, and the costume was a huge hit at the Halloween wedding I attended the next day. And no, at no point did I consider putting some white powder under my nose as was recommended to me by about a dozen people.

But to make sure I got the details right, I looked at a few pictures of Billy and watched a few of his informercials. Aside from the obvious blue shirt (which he didn't always wear) and the khaki pants, I noticed a few things I'd never realized before. He always rolled up his sleeves. Did that give the viewer the subtle message that Billy was a man who wasn't afraid of hard work and getting dirty? In both the Ding King and Dual Saw spots (two of the few where you see his feet) Billy is wearing sneakers. Not fancy dress shoes or loafers, regular sneakers.

And the beard. The beard has had its ups and downs throughout history, but in many circles, beards equate to strength and manliness. My old roommate frequently laments how after a month he still can't grow more than a sad attempt at a 9th-grader's stubble...and cries just a little. Sorry, Adam. Yes, I'm sure there are many arguments on both sides of this point, and you can feel free to tell them to King Leonidas or any Hell's Angel you run into. I'm simply saying Billy's Paul Bunyan-esque beard and powerful delivery could both be received by the viewer as signs of strength.

Now granted, this all may simply have been Billy's style, but, much like watching Pitchmen, it shows me Billy Mays was more than a guy yelling about cleaning products. He knew plenty about how to sell.

Anyway, this Halloween I paid tribute to an ad-man I very much admire. And here's another tribute from a Billy fan. Enjoy. And Billy, I hope to continue seeing the Dual Saw, Ding King and Mighty Mendit infomercials for a long time.



--George Convery, Copywriter

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In Memoriam: Billy Mays, 1958-2009

Life after Billy Mays, Day 1: Heart still heavy. Ears not ringing as much. Surprisingly uninterested in taking "the hard work out of yard work."

Click photo and we'll double your order!

Previous posts passingly related to The Legend.

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Friday Ad Haiku: Screamer Spots

You may call them screamers, barkers or the Mays/Lesko special. Frequently found on daytime TV and after midnight between the local personal injury firm and phone "party" line commercials--they're the bane of every copywriter's existence. They're the low budget ads that look like they were made 20 years ago by the graphic wizards behind Press Your Luck and Flash Gordon. But they pay a hell of a lot of bills while agencies and production companies alike await the greenlight for their next The Matrix, because let's face it, most people looking to make a commercial don't have budgets like Saturn or Toyota.

Your Friday Ad Haiku: The Screamer Spot

1-800-Call-
Us. 1-800-Call-Us.
1-800-Call-

Us. Visit us on
the Web at 1-800-
Call-Us.com. That's

1-800-Call-
Us. Call right now. Us. Today.
Call. Us.--Who cares if haikus only have 5 syllables in the final line. This commercial isn't airing in China. Let's work in the phone number one more time. 1-800-Call-Us...Call today.

--Captain Awesome, Copywriter

PS From people who've met Billy Mays and Matt Lesko, I've heard they're both pretty awesome guys.

Last Week on the Friday 5-7-5: Rush Jobs

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I Might Be a Sucker

Rolling my cart out of Safeway the other day, I was asked by a girl, maybe 10 or 11 years old and sitting behind a small table, “Would you like to buy some chocolate to raise money for a good cause? They’re only a dollar. The money goes to my school.” I thought, she seems excited, and I do like chocolate. Only a dollar! SOLD!

In retrospect, did I need it? I’m 40 pounds overweight, and this wasn’t some special enzyme-filled, calorie-reducing health chocolate. It wasn’t a great deal, either. I could’ve bought a Snickers in the checkout line for $0.79. Nor was it gourmet chocolate. It pretty much tasted like a Hershey bar, the same brand of miniatures I already had in my shopping cart. And as for the good cause? I don’t have any kids, so helping a school is only a benefit for me in that it keeps kids out of the way of my car during the day.

And when I asked her if it was a good school, she didn’t shout, “It’s the best school on the planet!” She shrugged her shoulders and, counting out five chocolate bars said, “Sure.” Thinking back, I'm wondering if I didn't hear her say, “Sure…sucker. And thanks for wearing your church sweatpants out on a Sunday, slob.”

DON’T JUDGE ME, LITTLE GIRL WITH YOUR CRAPPY SCHOOL!

So why did I buy this needless candy? This little girl presented an enthusiastic sales pitch for a product I already liked, followed by a reasonable price point. On top of that, it was for a good cause! I enjoy inexpensive chocolate, and I help save our nation's youth! Hooray!

So, is a strong pitch and a good deal all it takes sometimes? Is that why we still see infomercials for Tony Little's Rock and Roll Stepper?

Or why Billy Mays (Oxiclean, Orange Glo, Ding King, etc.) is such a popular pitchman?

I didn’t think I needed a Samurai Shark, but he just seemed so excited about it. Only three easy payments of $19.95! Why don’t they just give it away!

The answer is, YES.

As an ad agency, we love brilliant creative like this ad for Centraal Baheer insurance.

But not every campaign needs to be Advertising Genius. It may just need to be Advertising Smart. If you’re trying to get a brilliant concept to a hard-to-reach audience, it’s probably worth spending the extra money. But if your audience just needs a good price point to buy something they already use, like food or cleaning supplies or electronics equipment, then maybe you just need someone like this classic pitchman.

Although, as my father, Admiral Awesome, once noted, you do run the risk of annoying your potential customers. He’s vowed never to buy anything Billy Mays pitches. I said, “But Dad, he seems really excited.” He said, “Cap’n, we were really excited when you started remembering to zip up your fly, but we weren’t gonna sell it to anyone.” You win this round, old man.

So, know your message, know your audience, and decide, do I need something brilliant, or do I just need to spring Crazy Eddie out of prison?

-Captain Awesome, Project Specialist

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