It was all an April Fools’ Day joke to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the iconic Tommy Boy movie.
If you’re as late to the party as Tommy Boy was to graduation day, then no worries! There’s still time to have fun. Here’s what we released on April 1, 2025:
O’Reilly Auto Parts has inked a deal that others have attempted, but never accomplished.
It’s been 30 years since Tommy Boy Callahan and Richard Hayden went on the road to sell brake pads in an effort to save Callahan Auto from Ray Zalinsky’s hostile buyout attempt. Their sales success has been a roadmap for many in the automotive replacement parts industry.
It was a bit of a wild ride for Richard Hayden and Tommy Boy Callahan, but this sales trip in 1995 saved the company. Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
“I learned a lot from Tommy Boy Callahan early in my career selling auto parts,” said Brad Beckham, O’Reilly CEO. “One of the guiding philosophies I learned from his example was ‘brothers don’t shake hands…brothers gotta hug,’ and that’s how we choose to do business here at O’Reilly.”
Customer relationships have always been a source of pride for both O’Reilly and Callahan, though the two companies have sometimes employed vastly different approaches. “I can honestly say that, thanks to Tommy’s example, I’ve never set fire to something in a customer’s office,” Beckham said. “And there were simple life lessons, too – important things like ‘don’t put a deer in the backseat of your car,’ and ‘make sure you latch your hood.’”
With that kind of knowledge-sharing history, O’Reilly has completed a contract for Callahan Auto Parts and its famous brake pads.**
“This deal will truly stop traffic,” Beckham said. “We anticipate people all over will move from their cars to their couches to celebrate this deal with some chicken wingies and a review of Tommy Boy’s playbook.”
This part is true: Discover how the historic Callahan Auto Parts added horsepower to the American industry by visiting https://www.paramountmovies.com/movies/tommy-boy, to buy or rent Tommy Boy now!
*Callahan Auto is a fictional company from the movie Tommy Boy.
**C’mon, folks. The brake pads are fictional, too.