Ty-D-Bol Man
Ty-D-Bol is best known for its nautical spokesperson, the Ty-D-Bol Man, who piloted a toilet tank-sized boat in TV commercials from 1968 to 1984. A number of different actors portrayed the characrter, including Dan Resin,[13] Bob Kaliban, Fred Miltonberg, Larry Sprinkle, W. D. "Bill" Willert, and Mark Matheisen. The character was attired in a captain's hat, blazer, and turtleneck.
Resin, who died at age 79 in 2010, was Dr. Beeper in the film Caddyshack. Larry Sprinkle is a reporter for NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina.[14] Mark Matheisen's film credits include roles in Forrest Gump, Plan B, A Walk in the Clouds, and Ocean Tribe.
Steve Levin of the Dallas Morning News once wrote: "He wore white slacks, a blue blazer, white shoes, a captain's hat, and he drove a motorboat—in your toilet tank. He sang calypso, threw tiny lemons, and was a favorite topic for Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Carol Burnett, and George Carlin. He was also the driving force behind a generation of kids peeking into toilet tanks to find the little man in the boat. He was the first to introduce the automatic bowl cleaner and the first to turn the water in the bathroom blue. He was the Ty-D-Bol Man."[15]
George Carlin said on one of his comedy albums that, "they're approving some pretty weird things, man. Like the guy in the toilet is pretty strange. Originally, it's a rowboat. Then he got a speedboat. Then he was on a raft with two calypso guy musicians and two bushels of lemons [singing] 'We put the lemon in the Ty-D-Bol for you.
In a 1997 syndicated column, Dave Barry chimed in with "Also, remember the Ty-D-Bol man? The guy who used to float around the toilet tank in a little boat? I hate to burst your bubble, but he wasn't real, either. He was just a professional actor who happened to be six inches tall. The REAL Ty-D-Bol man is only four inches tall and is always watching you via a little periscope. Try not to think about it."[16]
According to Terry O'Reilly and Mike Tennant, the admen of CBC Radio’s The Age of Persuasion, "It's not easy to take seriously the marketing neverland where cartoon bears pitch toilet paper, where the Ty-D-Bol man patrols your toilet tank in a tiny rowboat and where a tin of Folgers coffee can heal a marriage. Yet the influence of marketing can't be ignored; worldwide, advertisers spend upwards of $600 billion a year trying to influence what you think, do and buy."[17]
