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The Discovery Channel had a very good show in Pitchmen. Pitchmen had the late Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan seeking and reviewing products early in the episode. They would decide on a few and produce an infomercial or long commercial to test the product on television. Based upon the results the guys would determine if the product was a hit or a miss. The show was extremely interesting because it showed a lot about the inventors and the business process of the TV products one sees on cable and late night television.
The inventors often had a difficult time with the business side of their inventions. Some did not want to offer their products in commercials but through the longer form infomercials. Others did not like pricing their product too low. Others had a very specific manner they wanted their products to be portrayed. But perhaps most interesting was the history the products, how they came about. One episode showed how the Awesome Auger came into being and it was an inspiring story.
The show brought a few new people to the public's consciousness. First there is Billy Mays III. This is Billy May's twenty-something son who work on the production side of Anthony Sullivan's television production company. Though he has shown no interest in following in his father's footsteps, he is very affable and likable. Another new personality is AJ Khubani of Telebrands. AJ has been doing television commercial products for a long time and very successfully with products like the Ped-Egg and EZ Combs. Billy Mays and Anthony Sullivan would bring products to AJ which may be expensive to produce and market. Products they could not afford to produce and market themselves. The Jupiter Jack was one product that AJ decided to accept.
The show was also about personalities and relationships. One common theme was the tension between Sullivan and Mays, who would frequently torment each other. The show also focused on Billy Mays and his celebrity as a Pitchmen. Something Billy Mays was very proud of was being a Pitchman trained on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. One rivalry the show examined was Billy's dislike for Vince Offer's ShamWow. One episode highlighted Mays making commercials that were contrary to Offer's ShamWow and Slap Chop. Mays had already done commercials years before Vince Offer's success with similar products, but it was the success of Offer that ate at Mays. So, he did new round of commercials for the Zorbeez to counter the ShamWow and the Quick Chop to counter the Slap Chop.
Sadly, the first season ended with the death of Billy Mays. The last episode of the first season was a full show tribute to Mays.
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Another great tv show about aspiring business people and inventors was the ABC show The Sharktank. Focused on people trying to convince investors to invest in their business. Concerning As Seen On TV products, one read a reply to the question Do Shamwows Really Work? Visit the links to find out more.
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