You can probably hear the voice right now. It’s loud, slightly raspy, and vibrating with an intensity that feels like it’s coming from a guy trying to sell you a soul-bond with a mop. That’s the magic of the but wait there’s more meme. It isn't just a funny caption on a picture of a cat looking surprised; it’s a cultural relic from a very specific era of American television that refused to die. Instead of fading away into the graveyard of forgotten late-night commercials, it evolved. It became the shorthand for every time life throws an unexpected, often ridiculous, extra layer of nonsense at us.
Most people associate those four words with Billy Mays. He was the king of the OxiClean empire, the man with the jet-black beard and the blue shirt who seemed to be shouting directly into your living room at 2:00 AM. But the history is actually a bit more tangled than that. Before Mays was the face of the phrase, there was Ron Popeil. Ron was the OG of the "as seen on TV" world. He founded Ronco. He sold the Veg-O-Matic. He sold the Pocket Fisherman. Popeil basically invented the rhythmic cadence of the infomercial, and he used "but wait, there's more" to pivot from a cool product to an irresistible deal. It was a psychological trick. He’d show you a slicer, let you get used to the price, and then—BAM—he’d toss in a set of steak knives for "free."
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The Anatomy of an Infomercial Legend
The but wait there’s more meme works because it taps into a universal feeling of skepticism mixed with weird excitement. We know we’re being played, but we kind of love it. The phrase represents the peak of 1990s and early 2000s consumerism.
Think about the structure of those ads. They always started with a problem you didn’t know you had. Are you tired of your eggs sticking to the pan? Then came the solution. The Teflon-Titanium-Turbo-Pan! But the real hook—the part that turned a product into a meme—was the escalation. The "But Wait" was the turning point where the deal went from reasonable to suspicious. It’s that pivot that makes it so flexible for internet humor. Whether it’s a politician adding another scandal to their resume or a video game boss having a third secret health bar, the meme fits. It signals that we’ve reached the "too much" stage of any given situation.
Billy Mays took what Popeil started and cranked the volume to eleven. Mays didn't just say the words; he barked them. He had this incredible, earnest energy that made you believe that OxiClean actually could remove a wine stain from a white tuxedo in three seconds. When he passed away in 2009, the internet didn't just mourn a salesman; they canonized a meme icon.
Why This Specific Phrase Went Viral
Memes usually need a "hook" and a "recontextualization." The but wait there’s more meme has both in spades.
The hook is the nostalgia. For anyone born between 1980 and 2000, these infomercials were the background noise of sick days and sleepless nights. The recontextualization happens when you take that high-energy sales pitch and apply it to something completely unrelated.
- The "Unexpected Plot Twist" Use: You’re watching a movie, the villain is defeated, the credits are about to roll, and then... a post-credits scene starts. The internet collectively shouts: "But wait, there's more!"
- The "Life is Exhausting" Use: You get a flat tire. You call the tow truck. The tow truck arrives, but then it starts raining. Then you realize you left your wallet at home. It’s a cascading series of unfortunate events that feels exactly like a pitch for a $19.99 kitchen gadget you’ll never use.
Honestly, the phrase is basically the "And Another Thing" of the digital age. It’s the linguistic version of a double-take.
Beyond Billy Mays: The Ronco Connection
If we’re being totally accurate—and we should be—Ron Popeil is the one who really solidified the sales tactic behind the but wait there’s more meme. Popeil was a marketing genius who understood that people don't buy products; they buy "extras." He knew that if he could keep the momentum going, the viewer wouldn't have time to think about whether they actually needed a rotisserie oven.
The phrase became so synonymous with his brand that he even used it as the title of his autobiography. That’s commitment. He knew he had captured lightning in a bottle. The meme today is a tribute to that relentless, aggressive optimism of the American salesman. It’s a parody of greed, sure, but it’s also a parody of our own desire to get something for nothing.
The Evolution into Modern Internet Culture
Today, you don't just see the phrase in text. You see the GIFs. You see the deep-fakes. You see the "But Wait" added to horror movie trailers. It has become a "template" meme.
In the early days of 4chan and Reddit, the but wait there’s more meme was often used in "combo" threads. Someone would post a picture, and the next person would post an edited version with more "features," and so on. It was a game of escalation.
Now, it’s moved into the world of "doomscrolling." When the news cycle feels particularly chaotic, you’ll see people tweet the Billy Mays GIF. It’s a way of saying, "I thought things couldn't get any weirder, but I was wrong." It provides a bit of dark humor to cushion the blow of a world that seems to be constantly offering us "more" of things we never asked for.
Misconceptions About the Catchphrase
A lot of people think Billy Mays invented it. He didn't. He just perfected the delivery.
Others think it’s a line from a specific movie. While it’s been parodied in everything from The Simpsons to Family Guy, its origin is purely commercial. It’s one of the few memes that originated in the "Old Media" of broadcast television and survived the transition to the "New Media" of TikTok and Instagram without losing its core meaning.
There's also a common mistake where people confuse it with "Set it and forget it!"—another classic infomercial line. While they occupy the same mental space, they serve different purposes. "Set it and forget it" is about ease; "But wait, there's more" is about value and overwhelm.
How to Use the Meme Effectively Today
If you're trying to use the but wait there’s more meme in your own content or just in a group chat, timing is everything. It works best when:
- The escalation is absurd. If the "extra" thing isn't significantly more ridiculous than the first thing, the joke falls flat.
- The delivery is high-energy. Use all caps. Use the GIF. The meme requires that Billy Mays "shouting" energy to really land.
- The situation is relatable. Everyone knows the feeling of a situation spiraling out of control. Use the meme to anchor that feeling.
Sometimes, the best memes are the ones that remind us of a simpler time—even if that simpler time involved being yelled at by a guy trying to sell us a "Handy Slicer" at three in the morning.
Real-World Examples of the Meme in the Wild
You’ll see this pop up in business marketing all the time. Brands like dbrand or even tech giants like Apple (during their "One More Thing" segments) are essentially using a polished, high-end version of the but wait there’s more meme. It’s the same psychological trigger.
On social media, influencers use it to transition between a story and a sponsored post. It’s a meta-joke now. They know you know they’re selling something, so they use the "But Wait" to signal that they’re in on the gag. It builds a weird kind of trust through shared irony.
Practical Takeaways for Digital Storytelling
If you’re a creator, there’s actually a lot to learn from the success of this meme. It teaches us about the power of a "pattern interrupt." In a world where everyone is scrolling at 100 miles per hour, you need something that breaks the rhythm.
The "But Wait" is a literal break in the sales pitch. It stops the momentum and resets the viewer's attention. Whether you're writing an email, a blog post, or a script for a video, finding your "But Wait" moment is key to keeping people engaged.
- Vary your delivery. Don't keep the same tone throughout. Surprise the reader.
- Offer "Bonus" value. Just like Ron Popeil, give your audience something extra they weren't expecting.
- Embrace the cheese. Sometimes, leaning into a trope or a cliché—if done with enough self-awareness—is more effective than trying to be "cool."
The but wait there’s more meme is a masterclass in staying power. It survives because it’s simple, it’s loud, and it’s undeniably human. We are all, in some way, always looking for that "extra" thing, even if we know it might just be a set of mediocre steak knives.
To master this specific brand of humor or communication, start looking for the "hidden extras" in your own stories. When you think you've finished a point, look for the twist. Identify the Billy Mays energy in your own niche. Use the phrase as a tool to pivot when your audience expects you to stop. Don't just deliver the facts; deliver the "and another thing" that makes the facts stick.