Mathis Brothers Question

[Charlie40]

What has happened to Bill and Larry Mathis? I don't see them on the Mathis Brothers commercials anymore it is this Rit Mathis who is he and why is he doing the commercials now. Anyone in the know have an answer?

[SoonerDave]

I don't know this for a fact, but my guess is they desired to aim for a younger "vibe" on their commercials. That's why they brought something called "Rit," and overhauled the interior of the store. MB's ads have always hovered right on the edge of annoying for me, and "Rit" doesn't help things.

[Sheetkeecker]

Rit Mathis is an effective and pleasant spokesman for Mathis Brothers.
I think he is a breath of fresh air from the screaming maniacs and echo-chambered hucksters others use.
Enhances the image of Mathis Brothers quite well, I think.
And, thank God they waited for him to grow up before springing him.

[Maynard]

LostOgle: Meet the New Mathis Brother...

[Questor]

He's the son of Bill Mathis. You may remember him as the little baby they had on commercials with them long, long ago. I agree seems like they're going for a younger demo now... Even the background people shopping in their commercials are skewing younger. If I had to guess... Baby Boomers are probably past their furniture buying prime now.

[RadicalModerate]

I figured that was A Real Mathis (and not just a holographic clone mathis).

I'm looking forward to The Diffie Motors Commercials of The Future.
Oh, wait . . . They are already here! And even MORE annoying!

So now, instead, I'm waiting for Sluggo to give another shot at resurrecting Soundtrak . . .

Geez . . .
(or Alan Merrill Junior III . . . or Tom Padgham the XXII) . . .

[venture]

The new style of commercials and Rit don't bother me, it definitely shows they are targeting a younger crowd like others said.

If this bothers you though, just wait for the next crop of Ogles to rise up and replace their fathers. *shiver*

[SoonerDave]

He's the son of Bill Mathis. You may remember him as the little baby they had on commercials with them long, long ago. I agree seems like they're going for a younger demo now... Even the background people shopping in their commercials are skewing younger. If I had to guess... Baby Boomers are probably past their furniture buying prime now.

Wait a sec.....the commercials with that baby ran after my wife and I were married, and we've only been married 17 years, so there's no way Rit is only 17...must be a different kiddo....

[Bill Robertson]

I wired a house that Bill Mathis and his first wife had built. This was somewhere around 87 to 90. Rit was learning to walk at the time. That would put him at 23 to 28.

[corpsman]

I shudder at that thought at least as much as the thought of Tom Padgham's or Alan Merril's grandkids showing up on late night TV. lol

The new style of commercials and Rit don't bother me, it definitely shows they are targeting a younger crowd like others said.

If this bothers you though, just wait for the next crop of Ogles to rise up and replace their fathers. *shiver*

[SoonerDave]

I wired a house that Bill Mathis and his first wife had built. This was somewhere around 87 to 90. Rit was learning to walk at the time. That would put him at 23 to 28.

Aha. That s'plains it.

[RadicalModerate]

Yes . . .
But how can anyone explain naming their firstborn son after fabric dye in a box?

(although I suppose Rit is better than Jell . . .[o])

P.S.: Ditto on The NextGen Ogles . . . {cringe}

[Questor]

I wired a house that Bill Mathis and his first wife had built. This was somewhere around 87 to 90. Rit was learning to walk at the time. That would put him at 23 to 28.

That makes sense. I didn't mean a literal baby... I recall that he was sort of setting up on his dad's lap in the commercials. A Google search confirms articles referencing him as Bill's son, but I couldn't find anything on the very early commercials.

[UncleCyrus]

Isn't Rit the third generation of the Mathis family to do the commercials?

[ljbab728]

Isn't Rit the third generation of the Mathis family to do the commercials?

Mathis Brothers was started in the middle 50's by Don and Bud Mathis. Bill and Larry are Don's sons. The first time I ever visited their store was when it was on Western Ave. Evans Furniture was in that same area at the time.

[boscorama]

I remember when the now-retiring Mathis kids took over the commercials following their old man. I, too, prefer tv spots without grand babies. MB has kept it in the family so far, without trying to make their children tv stars. Thank you MB!

[SoonerBoy18]

I miss the old commercial of the late 90's with those two brothers, i dont know their names, and a guy would sing "Mathis Brothers Furnitureeee!" lol

[ljbab728]

I miss the old commercial of the late 90's with those two brothers, i dont know their names, and a guy would sing "Mathis Brothers Furnitureeee!" lol

I'm sure you would have loved the old country music tv show that Don and Bud used to host then. They sang about the "fire blazin prices". LOL

[kevinpate]

I miss the old commercial of the late 90's with those two brothers, i dont know their names, and a guy would sing "Mathis Brothers Furnitureeee!" lol

They aren't brothers, but they sure have sold a few truckloads of furniture to folks who thought they were. Decent marketing plan spanning a couple of decades.


On edit - am I mistaken on the kinship? I thought they were cousins and not brothers. If so, Oopsey on my part.

[ljbab728]

They aren't brothers, but they sure have sold a few truckloads of furniture to folks who thought they were. Decent marketing plan spanning a couple of decades.


On edit - am I mistaken on the kinship? I thought they were cousins and not brothers. If so, Oopsey on my part.

Kevin, they don't look that much alike but Bill and Larry are brothers.

[kevinpate]

Learned something today. Given how the day went, that's actually a touch noteworthy, lol. Thanks for the clarification.

[Larry OKC]

During the transition from one generation to the next, thought I saw another "younger" mathis (along with Rit). Presume it was to keep the "brothers" theme going, but recently just seeing Rit. Anyone know?

[Bill Robertson]

They aren't brothers, but they sure have sold a few truckloads of furniture to folks who thought they were. Decent marketing plan spanning a couple of decades.


On edit - am I mistaken on the kinship? I thought they were cousins and not brothers. If so, Oopsey on my part.

I didn't think they were brothers either. We're wrong. The history on the MBF website says Bill and Larry are Don's sons.

[stick47]

I believe the original Mathis furniture store was started by Bud & Dons Father on California street back in the 40s.

[Dubya61]

There's a very interesting history I read somewhere (on Stacy Barton's blog?) about the history of OKC furniture stores and locally broadcast C&W music shows. I think that Jude and Jody, Bob Mills and Mathis Brothers were all competitors in the whole scene.