As every TV infomercial fan knows, Billy Mays, one of the all-time great commercial pitchmen, died tragically in 2009. Yet TV viewers are still seeing commercials with Billy Mays as the spokesman. The most prominent of these commercials is the one for the Jupiter Jack phone adapter. The commercial for the Jupiter Jack product is being aired frequently, especially on the cable sports network like ESPN. Actually, the Billy Mays version of the hands-free Jupiter Jack commercial is being aired simultaneously with a version featuring Mays’ partner and fellow pitchman Anthony Sullivan.
When you think about it, it makes sense to keep airing commercials with Billy Mays. He filmed many dozens of infomercials. Some of the many products he endorsed include Zorbeez cloths, the Quick Chop chopper, and many others as you can see in this video:
I bet the creators of these commercials wondered if they would need to pull the ads after the death of Billy Mays. But since his death Mays has gotten more famous than ever, so if the manufacturers of Zorbeez shammy or the QuickChop kitchen device want to sell their products, it makes sense to keep airing the Billy Mays ads until they stop making sales.
I wonder if upon the death of other well-known infomercial spokesmen the ads would continue to be broadcast. If Vince from ShamWow died, would they keep airing his Slap Chop ads. (Actually I haven’t seen his infomercials for the ShamWow shammy or the Slap Chop food chopper in a while, so maybe it wouldn’t make a difference anyway.)
In any case, seeing Billy Mays on TV probably gives reassurance to people who are wondering if the product really works.
