Billy Mays

William "Billy" D. Mays (born July 20 1958) is a television commercial and infomercial salesperson most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, and other cleaning, home-based, and maintenance products. His signature yelling approach to pitching an array of products, along with his recognizable beard, have gained Mays a substantial amount of recognition.

Biography

Mays was born in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. After graduating from high school, he began his career as a salesperson on the Atlantic City boardwalk, selling the "Washmatik" portable washing device to passersby. Working alongside many seasoned pitchmen, he developed his trademark style of salesmanship.

Mays later traveled to home shows, auto shows, and state fairs across the United States for a period of twelve years, selling various maintenance products and tools, including cleaning products and food choppers.

Rise to prominence

At a Pittsburgh home show in 1993, Mays struck up a friendship with rival salesman Max Appel, founder of Orange Glo International, a Denver-based manufacturer of cleaning products. He was then hired by the company to promote their line of cleaners, OxiClean, Orange Clean, and Orange Glo, on the Home Shopping Network in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Customer response to Mays' sales pitches were enthusiastic, with a sharp increase in sales after his first day on the network, although some reviews were poor. He is very well known for screaming in lieu of talking during infomercials and regular life. For example, Washington Post staff writer Frank Ahrens called him "a full-volume pitchman, amped up like a candidate for a tranquilizer-gun takedown".

Following the success of the Home Shopping Network campaign, a line of successful television commercials and infomercials for the products was produced, featuring Mays demonstrating the effectiveness of the products to viewers hands-on. He typically begins such commercials with: "Hi! Billy Mays here for [advertised product]." Their success led to OrangeGlo International being named among the top ten privately growing companies from 1999 to 2001 by Inc. magazine, and its eventual buyout by Church and Dwight. Appel credited Mays' salesmanship for much of the company's success.

Mays is the CEO and founder of Mays Promotions, Inc., based in Dunedin, Florida. His services as a pitchman became highly sought-after, and he has appeared in commercials for many diverse "as seen on TV" products. Mays claims to be an avid user of the products he promotes.

Mays was named the new voice of iCan Benefit Group, LLC., "the first company offering Health Insurance Billy Mays has been excited to endorse". The TV commercials, featuring Billy Mays telling "the iCan story", began to air nationally in May 2008. He is quoted as "The King of Infomercials".

Mays currently resides in Odessa, Florida, northwest of Tampa in a US$1.8 million home built in 2005.