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The outpouring of memorials and remembrances following the death of TV
pitchman Billy Mays was a testament to the career he had built, while also
speaking to the true reach of direct-response TV. News of Mays' untimely
death hit in the middle of a string of celebrity deaths, with Mays' obituary
sharing space with the King of Pop (Michael Jackson), one of the world's most
famous pin-up girls (Farrah Fawcett), an iconic TV personality (Ed McMahon) and
a rumour mill that had even more famous people dying. Despite the
competition, the death of TV's biggest reigning pitchman was national news.
Mays had achieved a kind of cult status that made him interesting to almost
everyone, and contradicted the common misconception that only a select
demographic watches DRTV. Google "Billy Mays" and you will find more than
3.5 million entries that transcend demographic boundaries. My
10-year-old-nephew was a big fan. My erudite lawyer called to ask about
Mays. The week after his death, I was at a dinner with senior-level
marketing executives from two Fortune 500 companies, and most of the dinner
conversation surrounded Billy.
Mays' broad appeal was not a surprise to me. Several years ago my agency
was hired by OxiClean, the brand that put him on the map, to deal with its
"Billy Mays" issue. The company had rapidly grown from a "pitchman" and
"home shopping" product into a large national retail brand, to a great extent
based on the power of Billy's pitch. Big-money competitors were nipping at
its heels with versions of "Oxi" products, and OxiClean wanted to keep up the
momentum. It had initially been advised that it needed to migrate from
DRTV into a more sophisticated brand strategy and had hired a well-known brand
agency to produce expensive, beautiful and amusing new commercials. The
result was a miserable failure, with sales dropping quickly. OxiClean then
came to us, hoping to "up the production quality and brand message" while
maintaining its direct-sales roots. It was also worried about its
dependence on Mays. He was synonymous with the brand, and OxiClean was
rightly concerned about one personality being the face of its company.
As often happens when analyzing DRTV, consumer feedback on Mays had absolutely
no correlation to his success. He was polarizing. Many consumers
were disturbingly vocal in their dislike for him. But the true test of the
effectiveness of DRTV is based on results, not random consumer complaints, and
that was where Mays shined. People would complain about Billy, but he got
them to buy, from TV and at retail.
We produced two ads with a different spokesperson and two with Billy.
There was no comparison. Consumers wanted to buy from Billy, and not just
any Billy but the loud and in-your-face pitchman doing interesting
demonstrations. Accordingly, it is no surprise that years later, after
OxiClean was acquired by mega-marketer Church & Dwight, Billy remained the
brand's spokesman, doing his pitch the same way he always had.
Mays' success reinforces many facts that direct-response marketers innately
understand but brand marketers still find elusive, including:
- Everyone watches DRTV. Kids, moms, lawyers, business execs,
poor, middle class and the rich - they all watch. DRTV is not a demographic
profile; it is a marketing method and sales channel.
- Direct response is a valid approach to brand building. The
essence of brand is not beautiful imagery or clever slogans; often it is more
about consumer acceptance of a product's ability to solve a problem. In
fact, after OxiClean's success, mega-brand marketers such as P&G and Clorox
entered the DRTV world, often with products and creative designed to replicate
what OxiClean had done.
- DRTV drives sales. For most products, the real miracle of
direct response is its ability to drive retail sales, and it allows companies
with limited advertising budgets to do battle with the big boys.
OxiClean was a nice little company when it only sold direct to consumers.
When it rolled into retail using the cost efficiencies of DRTV, it became a
powerhouse that threatened the world's most sophisticated retail brands.
- People like to be sold. Brand advertising is frequently so
obsessed with itself that it often forgets to sell us the product. Show
us what you want us to buy, and tell us why we should buy it. Mays made
us understand the value of his products.
- The only true test of DRTV is "live testing." Clients
constantly ask about an alternative to a real media test, but unfortunately
there is no replacement. People in a forced group environment act
differently than they do in the privacy of their own homes. I can
guarantee you that Billy Mays never would have made it out of a focus group,
yet he became one of the most famous pitchmen in history.
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