Description: A "convertible" garment
Main Pitch: "It changes from a top, to a dress, to a skirt, to a wrap and more"
Main Offer: $19.95 for one
Bonus: Triple the offer (black, brown, pink) plus Styling DVD and Styling Guide
Marketer: Allstar
Website: www.FlirtyWrap.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed
My knowledge of fashion is the exact inverse of my knowledge of DRTV. In other words, I have no clue what the criteria are for predicting whether a fashion item will be hot (if such criteria even exist). If this is a fashion item, as the commercial suggests, we can flip a coin.
However, if this item follows the rules of DRTV, I say it's a long shot. That's because garment "convertibility" is a solution to a weak problem. The creative stretch that was necessary to open this commercial is a good indication of this. Women are asked to imagine a day where the agenda is "work then dinner then dancing." But how often do women find themselves preparing for that sort of day? And what age group are we talking about here? It certainly isn't the 50+ crowd that represents the majority of DRTV buyers.
The convertibility of this garment is a "wow" to be sure, and I can see women liking this product for vacations and trips to the beach. But I don't think that's enough to sustain a DRTV campaign. In daily life, most women I know carefully plan their outfits and want a specific look for each and every occasion. It is highly unlikely that one garment could satisfy all of their needs.
Clothing is also an interesting category for DRTV. My hypothesis is that it only works well when it solves a reliable DR problem. For example, there have been several successful clothing items that make women look slimmer (Kymaro is one). That makes sense because weight is a persistent problem that fuels the success of two other huge categories: fitness and diet.
Beyond that, I can't think of many clothing items that have done well on DRTV, especially where fashion or the "look" was a key part of the pitch. Can you? If so, click here to leave a comment.
