Retail
giant Sears is seriously considering ending
its 16-year-long relationship with home improvement guru Bob Vila. In his place would be stud-of-the-moment Ty
Pennington. Pennington and Sears aren't exactly strangers to begin with. The store sponsors his show Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition and Craftsman is the tool brand of choice on the show. Right now Pennington has done
various advertising for Sears and has a line of soft goods bearing his name in Sears outlets. The shift is based on the
fact that Pennington's show, along with his previous stint on Trading Spaces, has given him such exposure
that he's a household name. Despite the potential (eventual?) split with Vila it doesn't seem there are any plans for
Pennington to begin hawking Craftsman tools outside of their use on the show. The concern seems to be that he's too
"touchy-feely" for the Craftsman crowd.Sears Dropping Bob for Ty
Retail
giant Sears is seriously considering ending
its 16-year-long relationship with home improvement guru Bob Vila. In his place would be stud-of-the-moment Ty
Pennington. Pennington and Sears aren't exactly strangers to begin with. The store sponsors his show Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition and Craftsman is the tool brand of choice on the show. Right now Pennington has done
various advertising for Sears and has a line of soft goods bearing his name in Sears outlets. The shift is based on the
fact that Pennington's show, along with his previous stint on Trading Spaces, has given him such exposure
that he's a household name. Despite the potential (eventual?) split with Vila it doesn't seem there are any plans for
Pennington to begin hawking Craftsman tools outside of their use on the show. The concern seems to be that he's too
"touchy-feely" for the Craftsman crowd.Reader Comments
(Page 2)22. I personally don't care for the "screaming" Ty. I also don't feel he has near the building experience of Bob Villa. I know I wouldn't hang my hat on anything he had to say and I would no longer watch the show if Ty were on there-in any capacity. Bob Villa does not need an assistant. He is also a household name-don't forget.
Posted at 7:40AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Judy Richards
23. No one should be surprised by any decision that a corporation makes.They have no loyalty to anyone or anything but the almighty dollar.Remember Sears is the originator of the 22% credit card.
Posted at 7:40AM on Mar 5th 2006 by john ciancio
24. I personally don't care for the "screaming" Ty. I also don't feel he has near the building experience of Bob Villa. I know I wouldn't hang my hat on anything he had to say and I would no longer watch the show if Ty were on there-in any capacity. Bob Villa does not need an assistant. He is also a household name-don't forget.
Posted at 7:41AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Judy Richards
25. Sears still matters? Why is this news? I haven't shopped there since I got My Ted Williams fishing pole and baseball mitt.
Posted at 7:42AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Mark
26. Bob is dead. I never liked the guy. I also never saw him do anything but disturb the guys who were really working. He is a hasbeen. Ty does know how to work with his hands. If you watch Trading Spaces you have seen him build numbers of things. I have been in the Hardware business for 37 years and Bob Villa is a joke.
Posted at 7:43AM on Mar 5th 2006 by In the trade
27. Interesting! Here we have a situation where it looks like a MAN is going to be replaced because he is no longer "young & fresh." I don't care which gender that happens to, it is wrong! We are way too preoccupied with youth, looks, and popularity. If I were having renovations done on my house, I would choose the person (male or female!) with the most experience. Yes, "young & fresh" ideas are also a valuable commodity, but to replace experience and a reliable track record with that would be a mistake. Did the advertising geniuses that suggested this ever think of COMBINING the two? Young and fresh backed up by experience and know-how...gee...what a concept! Besides, just because Bob Villa has some "snow on the roof" does not necessarily preclude that his "creative fires" have gone out! Get a clue, Sears!!!
Posted at 7:45AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Gabriele
28. Are you kidding? Bob Vila is a trusted, familiar friend to Sears and the audience. Ty is a sweetie pie too. If you replace Bob with Ty, the loyal audience will turn against Ty and Sears will be a big loser. Keep them both, of course. It's so obvious to any logical thinker, isn't it? Oh yeah, we're talking about advertising executives, I forgot.
Posted at 7:46AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Roberta
30. I agree bad move, Bob for me is missed on this old house and will be missed more for Sears..mistake!
Posted at 7:50AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Bill Nye
32. Oh boy! This reminds me of the Classic Coke fiasco of a few years back. Sears may be making a huge mistake. I am so used to Bob Villa as the Sears Icon that even though Ty Pennington has immediate facial recognition with me, I would be saddened to see him replace Vila. Pennington's hyper-kinetic personality is fun to watch and his renovations are great and worthwhile but I'm not sure his name/facial recognition translates into "renovation expert" the way Vila's does. I think the suggestions to use both are a good idea--if that can't happen, keep Vila.
Posted at 7:50AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Heather
33. It's time for Ty... Bob Vila has been around...we've been there, done that, and need a new face with some enthusiasm. Ty's a great carpenter. If anyone watched the Trading Spaces shows that he was on you know he did some pretty great stuff. He wasn't just a designer. He actually did the work as well. Too "touchy-feely"??? Just because Extreme Makeover helps special needs families?? Get a life! Ty's attractive, fun, knowledgeable, young and fresh. Go for it, Sears!
Posted at 7:52AM on Mar 5th 2006 by David
34. I feel that if Sears replaces Bob, it really should be with Norm (to bad he's not in the scenerio here). Bob is an icon of generations where it comes to home improvement, remodeling and building from the ground up. Ty, on the other hand, has become a household name with redecorating and helping people in need. He knows his carpentry and does an awesome job. He has great creativity and skill which has been shown time and time again. I'm from the Bob Villa generation but have to say that Ty has give me more inspiration for remodeling projects than Bob ever did. The best thing that Sears could do would be to leave both representing their company as they are today. If they want to change up a bit, let the two work together on some projects. Let Bob show some of his decorating style and Ty some of his carpentry skills.
Posted at 7:54AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Phoebe
35. Ty is a talented guy. I grew up watching Bob and all I can remember is that everyone else is doing the work, and Bob just walks around and talks about what they are doing. Ty is more hands on. He is not a designer, he built the things the designers asked for. Ty is a great choice.
Posted at 7:56AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Danny Sandefur
36. I agree with Norm. That man truly knows what he is doing. I find Ty to be annoying and Bob to be egotistical. But Norm is someone I would go to for advice and trust him to tell the truth.
Posted at 7:57AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Joyce
37. Quick review here folks, Ty did the building for Trading Spaces - he was not a designer. Norm Abrams did the real building on This Old House - Not Bob Vila, he simply talked the project through. I rarely saw him do any work himself. I agree with others here that they should drop the talker and use the workers - Ty and the real star of This Old House - Norm Abrams.
Posted at 8:00AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Pam Brown
38. It's about time. Sears sponsored a 'home improvement' fair a fews years ago in a nearby city. This was a 'hands-on' type of event with vendors of all kinds. Bob Vila attended in an expensive designer suit and was less than gracious. That attire certainly wasn't what I expected Mr. "This Old House" to be wearing at a home improvement show!
Bring on Ty or Norm...or, for pete's sake, Tim Allen! Bob might ruin his fancy suit!!!
Posted at 8:06AM on Mar 5th 2006 by MB
39. Oh yeah! Go with Ty! But keep Bob Vila too. They both do entirely different things and appeal to different demographics!
Posted at 8:10AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Kathy
40. Bob Villa is a wanna be! He has been playing a role of construction and builder for years. Bob needs to go back to his log cabin set and start over, after he reads the instructions of course. Have you ever noticed how many times Bob has asked this question Whats you doing here today? Any outstanding carpenter or builder would automatically would now the procedure of the process. I think Bob has been shocked to many times trying to do his own re-wiring! Bob Villa should had his own show called Wanna Be Carpenter and stick with bird house or small dog houses. Nothing for a human to live in.
Posted at 8:12AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Don Miller
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21. I agree with Norm, fire Bob and hire Norm. I would love to see Norm and the guys do a Home Makeover episode along with Ty and his group. I like Bob, but if you ever watched his show for any lenght of time, you know the guy really doesn't know what to do. How much "hard labor" do you see him doing? NOT MUCH. And Ty's not a decorator either. He DESIGNS the rooms.
Posted at 7:40AM on Mar 5th 2006 by Maureen Stevens