Billy Mays

2009catchphraseclassic

Billy Mays was an American TV pitchman whose shouted OxiClean commercials made his all-caps delivery style a running joke on 4chan and other forums throughout the late 2000s. After Mays died in June 2009, tribute Facebook pages and forum threads flooded the web, and Digg declared the anniversary of his death 'ALL CAPS DAY.'

advertising memescatchphrase memeslate 2000s memesdeath hoax tragedy memesunwilling celebrity memes

Overview

Billy Mays was the bearded, blue-shirted pitchman behind OxiClean and dozens of other infomercial products, and his shouted selling voice turned him into internet shorthand for typing in all caps3. Urban Dictionary entries submitted while he was still on the air called him 'the best salesman in the world' who could sell someone 'a nickel for a dime'4.

The signature look was central to the meme too: heavy graying beard, blue button-down shirt, and a wide-eyed lean toward the camera. His representative OxiClean spot, opening 'Hi, Billy Mays here,' has racked up views on YouTube for well over a decade2.

How It Spread

Mays died on June 28, 2009 at age 50, hours after a rough landing on a flight into Tampa1. An autopsy later attributed the death to heart disease possibly linked to cocaine use, and in response Digg declared June 28 'ALL CAPS DAY' in his honor while Reddit, Buzzfeed and the Kingdom of Loathing forums opened memorial threads about the news3.

Facebook tribute pages piled up quickly. 'I miss Billy Mays yelling at me to buy things :(' pulled over 425,000 likes by April 2012, and 'RIP Billy Mays (We Will Miss Your Infomercials)' cleared 212,000. His son Billy Mays III kept the elder Mays' Twitter account active through September 2009 and later ran a single-topic blog called 'Where's Billy Mays?' collecting fan photos of his late father3.

How to Use This Meme

The common way to invoke Billy Mays online is to type in ALL CAPS when hyping something ordinary, mimicking his shouted infomercial delivery2. Image macros typically pair his grinning, bearded face with product-endorsement style captions, and short clips from his loudest OxiClean moments are often reused as reaction videos for too-good-to-be-true deals2.

Frequently Asked Questions

Billy Mays

2009catchphraseclassic

Billy Mays was an American TV pitchman whose shouted OxiClean commercials made his all-caps delivery style a running joke on 4chan and other forums throughout the late 2000s. After Mays died in June 2009, tribute Facebook pages and forum threads flooded the web, and Digg declared the anniversary of his death 'ALL CAPS DAY.'

advertising memes catchphrase memes late 2000s memes death hoax tragedy memes unwilling celebrity memes

Overview

Billy Mays was the bearded, blue-shirted pitchman behind OxiClean and dozens of other infomercial products, and his shouted selling voice turned him into internet shorthand for typing in all caps3. Urban Dictionary entries submitted while he was still on the air called him 'the best salesman in the world' who could sell someone 'a nickel for a dime'4.

The signature look was central to the meme too: heavy graying beard, blue button-down shirt, and a wide-eyed lean toward the camera. His representative OxiClean spot, opening 'Hi, Billy Mays here,' has racked up views on YouTube for well over a decade2.

How It Spread

Mays died on June 28, 2009 at age 50, hours after a rough landing on a flight into Tampa1. An autopsy later attributed the death to heart disease possibly linked to cocaine use, and in response Digg declared June 28 'ALL CAPS DAY' in his honor while Reddit, Buzzfeed and the Kingdom of Loathing forums opened memorial threads about the news3.

Facebook tribute pages piled up quickly. 'I miss Billy Mays yelling at me to buy things :(' pulled over 425,000 likes by April 2012, and 'RIP Billy Mays (We Will Miss Your Infomercials)' cleared 212,000. His son Billy Mays III kept the elder Mays' Twitter account active through September 2009 and later ran a single-topic blog called 'Where's Billy Mays?' collecting fan photos of his late father3.

How to Use This Meme

The common way to invoke Billy Mays online is to type in ALL CAPS when hyping something ordinary, mimicking his shouted infomercial delivery2. Image macros typically pair his grinning, bearded face with product-endorsement style captions, and short clips from his loudest OxiClean moments are often reused as reaction videos for too-good-to-be-true deals2.

Frequently Asked Questions