5 Strangest Products Pitched by Billy Mays

Posted by Alex in Gadget, Neatorama Only, Video Clips on June 28, 2009 at 2:28 pm


Everybody knows that Billy Mays is TV pitchman for OxiClean ("powered by the air we breathe!) and Kaboom ("tough on grime, easy on you") ... but wait, there's more! Did you know that the loud, bearded uber-salesman also pitched strange products like the Grater Plater and the Hercules Hook? (There's also the Green Now, a spray paint to paint your dead lawn green, but I couldn't find the video for it.)

In memory of Billy Mays, the king of infomercial, here are 5 of the strangest product he ever pitched:

The Grater Plater


[YouTube Clip]

What do you get when you combine a cheese grater and a plate? The plate that grates, of course, here's The Grater Plater. (The name alone is golden: Grater. Plater. Grater plater. Gotta love it!)

The Gopher


[YouTube Clip]

While my wife likes OxiClean, The Gopher is actually my favorite item Billy Mays had ever pitched (in the words of another late-night infomercial, "I'm not only a blogger, I'm also an infomercial customer!"). It just works well - many years later, I still use mine to grab things too high to reach (saves me from getting the step stool out).

Tool Band-It


[YouTube Clip]

The Tool Band-It is another in Billy May's long line of making a product out of two existing ones. This time, it's magnet + armband, to give you a magnetic arm band. Genius!

The AwesomeAuger


[YouTube Clip]

I distrust a $20 drill, but the idea behind the AwesomeAuger is pretty solid (I have a similar device - the drill bit alone cost me $20. It works well for boring holes in hard ground for small plants). The only thing that works better is The Garden Weasel's Garden Claw.

Hercules Hook


[YouTube Clip]

The Hercules Hook is in a class by itself: here, Billy Mays used his infomercial prowess to sell you a bent pin for hanging stuff on your wall. I myself am a nail-and-hammer kind of guy, but the Hercules Hook does work well (if you don't damage the drywall while you're pushing it in) though I wouldn't use it to hang shelves or anything like that ...

Billy Mays, RIP.


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28 comments to "5 Strangest Products Pitched by Billy Mays"

  1. MrJawbones
    June 28th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    Billy Mays is dead?? Sad! I always watched a bit of PitchMen after Mythbusters Wednesday nights. He was a good guy. Rest in peace, man.

  2. catsvillage
    June 28th, 2009 at 2:44 pm

    RIP billy mays. will miss your patter

  3. harm
    June 28th, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    I love my Hercules Hooks. RIP Billy Mays.

  4. Josh
    June 28th, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    Billy always pitched stuff he believed in. I own several products he pitched and they work just as advertised. He is one of the few who really believe what he in doing it and enjoyed every bit of it.

  5. Frau
    June 28th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    I just saw him on Conan the other night.
    I liked him for the same reason as Josh. He really seemed honest and believed in his products.

    FTR - the grater plate was already designed by the Chinese for grating ginger.

  6. Chad
    June 28th, 2009 at 4:10 pm

    GUYS DONT FORGET JUNE 28TH IS ALL CAPS DAY! ALSO I THOUGHT YOU ALL MIGHT GET A KICK OUT OF THIS, BILLY MAYS ORDERING FOOD FROM MCDONALDS:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtYdDK1uTDI

  7. Mark Ste. Marie
    June 28th, 2009 at 4:38 pm

    What a shame. RIP Billy.

  8. Allimar
    June 28th, 2009 at 4:56 pm

    And the world is a quieter place.

  9. the monkey
    June 28th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    such sad news. i really grew to like him after watching 'Pitchmen'. he seemed like a genuinely nice man. he was no shill and he didn't just pitch anything that came along. as some others have commented - he only pitched products he believed in and tested. a couple of episodes ago, he had his very young daughter on the show - along with his adult son. what a tragedy for the whole family. very, very

  10. Timm
    June 28th, 2009 at 5:31 pm

    I won't miss his pitches a bit. Hopefully I will never hear his voice again.

  11. Johnny Cat
    June 28th, 2009 at 5:51 pm

    I, for one, have never heard of the guy, never seen him. I guess "Everybody" else watches infomercials. Whatever, hope his family will be okay.

  12. Rawley
    June 28th, 2009 at 8:51 pm

    I want a grater plater

  13. zav
    June 28th, 2009 at 10:15 pm

    After watching these, I am so glad I stopped watching television.

  14. Snarkychef
    June 28th, 2009 at 10:33 pm

    I have the Herc hooks, and I love them. They make smaller holes in my drywall than the regular drywall screws. I've also seen some of the more traditional forms of the ginger grater, but now I kinda want a grater plater... that's the power of Billy Mays. He was a very loud man with few asshole moments--it's sad to see him go.

  15. kai
    June 28th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

    Is this a death like Jeff Goldblum? I can't believe it. Did they wrap him in superabsorbent towels? It sucks to loose a spokesperson like that.

  16. Key
    June 29th, 2009 at 5:41 am

    What's with all the shouting?

  17. stephanie
    June 29th, 2009 at 11:13 am

    I want a grater plater!

    Mays was an interesting and ubiquitous person. Anyone who fell asleep with the TV on has probably caught his infomercials.

  18. Susan
    June 29th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    I always enjoyed his commercials, cause they were for great , and unique items that REALLY worked and sold for decent prices. He had a unique ability and wasn't weird or too irritating to listen to even with the shouting, because he got your attention and he always had a good product to hauk. He always displayed the items precisely and to the point.
    I am so sorry he is gone. My condolences to his family. He will be missed.
    I watched all of these marked the stranges items he pitched, and to tell you the truth I want them ALL !!!
    He as good at what he did and gone too soon.

  19. Jaycatt
    June 29th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    We used to call him Shouty McShoutshout

  20. Roc
    June 29th, 2009 at 1:12 pm

    Watch your back Shamwow guy, you're NEXT!

  21. neatoman
    June 29th, 2009 at 2:07 pm

    They say celebrity deaths come in threes. Leave it up to Billy Mays to throw in an extra one COMPLETELY FREE!!!

  22. Christophe
    June 29th, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    I was more schocked by his death than MJackson's one. How do you expect somebody so full of life to die?

  23. Vicki
    June 29th, 2009 at 8:35 pm

    How many people can say they sold something that really made a difference in someone's life? Seriously. OxyClean rules -- and we know about it because of Billy. Can't say as much for most of us.

  24. Noelegy
    June 30th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    LOL neatoman. :)

    The only episode of "Pitchmen" I've seen was the one where they agreed to pitch the Grater Plater for their friend who was a cancer survivor. It was funny and touching.

    You know, I'm more bummed about Billy Mays than Michael Jackson. I was never a Jacko fan, but I can definitely acknowledge that he was talented and had a huge influence on pop culture. But Billy Mays just seemed like a very real and likeable guy.

  25. Calen
    July 1st, 2009 at 8:02 am

    It's best if you play them all at once. AMAZING

  26. whiteryder
    July 7th, 2009 at 9:48 am

    I bought a grater plater after seeing the Pitchmen episode on it. I already had something like it, but the one I had was really sharp and hurt my fingers. The Grater Plater is better, it is a little slower at grating but it doesn't grate your fingers when the garlic or ginger piece gets small. And it's nice to look at too, you really can put it on the table.

    So I'm happy with the product, but I HATED the online ordering site. They don't summarize your order before you click the PAY NOW button and start entering your shipping/payment info. I thought I was only ordering two (you get the 2nd one free if you pay the S/H) but somehow I ordered three. Then when the box arrived it contained SIX! (Fortunately I was only charged for three, maybe they come in pairs?) But of course I don't blame Billy Mays for the website. I too was more touched by Mays' death than MJ's.

  27. pjs
    July 10th, 2009 at 4:41 am

    It's unfortunate that Billy died. He seemed like quite a character (from what bit I saw of Discovery's Pitch Men) and would probably have been fun to work with, even if his pitches often skirted the edge of being annoying. But some of the more gimmicky products were fun to watch, simply because it left you wondering why people would actually buy them.

    But for some reason, his untimely demise leaves me picturing a new curse to put on people: May the ghost of Billy Mays haunt you for the rest of your life! Just picture it, if you would... "BILLY MAYS HERE! BLAH BLAH..." (And yes, always talking at FULL BILLY VOLUME!) I hope nobody is too upset, but my humor is wierd like that.

  28. J
    July 10th, 2009 at 7:24 pm

    re Calen: you are a genius. Funniest two minutes of my life.


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