It's bad out there ... but that hasn't stopped DRTV marketers from launching more items than I have time to review. Here's a round-up of the latest:
- Ab Radical. Pitch: "The radically fast way to tone your abs anywhere." Comments: The Website is already down, so I guess we know the outcome. Abs is one of those great categories that delivers one big hit per year, but a dozen other products crash and burn. [a]
- Beauty Cups. Pitch: "The new strapless bra cups that fit you perfectly, can add a cup size and are a fraction of the cost of a regular bra." Comments: Telebrands had some success with a product called Natural Bra a few years ago, but I don't think the concept will play as well today. Plus, the product isn't as good as that one was. [a]
- Bungee. Pitch: "Let your lost items find you" with this "virtual lost and found." Marketer: Telebrands. Comments: This is a bit too complicated for DR. More important, it's prevention and prevention ... [a]
- Celeb Curls. Pitch: "Work like magic to transform your look from drab to fab." Marketer: Emson. Comments: The "look like a celebrity" pitch is way too tired and obvious to work today. Moreover, I can't think of a single hair curling product that has worked on DRTV. Feel free to post a comment and remind me of one. [a]
- Charge Buddy. Pitch: "Has four USB ports, so you can charge four devices at the same time." Comments: A tech-oriented commercial featuring young kids and teens is not a recipe for success in DRTV. It's just a matter of demographics. The majority of DRTV buyers don't have young kids or teens, and they don't use a lot of gadgets. Oh, and the price of this is $29.95? Prediction: Bomb. [a]
- Memory Paw. Pitch: "Now you can honor the memory of your cherished pet." Marketer: Telebrands. Comments: Another site that is already down. I like the "emotional blackmail" approach (HT: Fred V.), but you still need to solve a problem to be successful in the pet category. [a]
- Bell +Howell Micro-Cam. Pitch: "One of the world's smallest DV camcorders." Marketer: Emson. Comments: A tech item for three payments of $19.95? Prediction: Bomb. [a]
- Nail Wow. Pitch: "The nail design that goes on fine every time" Comments: Amateur hour. Prediction: Bomb. [a]
- Sunny Seat. Pitch: "The (cat) bed you put on your window." Comments: I didn't make it past the part where it mounts to glass windows or doors using "industrial strength suction cups." Most DRTV products solve a problem. This one could actually create one. [a]
- Skedaddle. Pitch: "The pet-friendly way to keep pets off the furniture." Marketer: SAS Group. Producer: Blue Moon Studios. Comments: I like this one. First there was Bark Off; now there's "Keep Off!" If it works, this will be the second time someone discovered a strange dichotomy in the marketplace. Ontel was the first with Cami Secret, since it appears both enhancing cleavage and hiding it are winning ideas on DRTV. [a]
