August 26, 2010

Review: Gone In One Minute

Description: An anti-aging serum
Main Pitch: "Look years younger in just one minute!"
Main Offer: First 100 callers get a risk-free trial (just pay S&H)
Bonus: None
Marketer: Telebrands
Website: www.GoneInOneMinute.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

This commercial goes along fine, and then we get to: "The secret is oxy-gen." Suddenly, it feels like P.T. Barnum wrote this copy, and I'm supposed to be one of those suckers born every minute! That's really the only problem with the commercial. Otherwise, it is well done, and the offer can't be beat.

However, there are also key problems with the category and the product. First, the category is super-crowded with brand-name products. If Telebrands is a brand (and one could argue it has become one) it certainly doesn't stand for beauty and can't compete on that playing field. The only play here is value, but cheaper isn't necessarily better when it comes to this category -- and credibility is everything. On DRTV, many similar products have also been tried and have failed ... Which brings me to the product.

Full disclosure: I have inside information that a similar product was tried recently, and it failed. It's unlikely Telebrands did enough here to turn a loser into a winner, although I do like the positioning and clarity of this version a lot better.