Mail; Charleston, W.V. – But wait, there's more …
But wait, there’s more …
0 Comments | Sunday Gazette – Mail; Charleston, W.V., Feb 8, 2009 | by Rick Steelhammer
WHEN it comes to America’s most irritating voices, television infomercial maven Billy Mays comes in third, right behind the amplified mosquito and a laughing Fran Drescher.
Like an aging uncle with a bad hearing aid, Mays feels compelled to shout. Mays’ shouting generally takes place on cable television late at night, when he’s trying to hawk a variety of gadgets and cleaning products to insomniacs with valid credit cards.
The shouting could be a byproduct of genuine enthusiasm for grout cleaners and dent removal kits, but I suspect Mays is simply trying to make sure his target audience is alert enough to dial the correct toll-free number flashed on the screen when the infomercial gets to the “Wait! There’s more!” phase.
These days, the bearded, high-volume pitchman is being challenged by brash, spiky-haired, slick-talking upstart Vince Offer, who appears in his infomercials wearing a headset-microphone of the type favored by state fair cutlery salesmen and Madonna.
Offer, who in 1999 wrote, directed and starred in “The Underground Comedy Movie,” is now best known for being Vince the Sham Wow Guy. He’s the star of an infomercial touting the virtues of Sham Wow, a hyper-absorbent chamois cloth. It appears to be identical to the Zorbeez, a chamois cloth that is simultaneously being pitched by Mays.
A toe-to-toe smackdown to settle the issue of who controls the late-night infomercial cable space would be entertaining
Jul 29, 2010
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