So many tests, so little time. Here are 14 quick reviews:
- Bonsai Mat. Pitch: "Over 8,000 therapeutic accupoints quickly soothe aches and pains." Comments: I think this campaign will suffer from a credibility problem. Accupressure isn't widely embraced in the western world. [a]
- Flex-O-Ring. Marketer: Smooth Fitness. Pitch: "Hundreds of exercises for strength training, toning and cardio." Comments: Not sure what I'm looking at with this one, but it isn't good short-form DR. Maybe it's part of some other strategy? [a]
- Happy Bowl. Pitch: "World's first biodegradable toilet bowl liners." Comments: This is not a product for DRTV. Using mass media to hit RV and boat owners is like using a shotgun to kill a fly. [a]
- Hot Top. Pitch: "Turn your stove into a professional cooktop." Marketer: Telebrands. Comments: An interesting idea, but I don't think the problem this solves is very high on the 10-point pain scale. Also, it faces the "segment of a segment" problem because it's only for electric stoves. [a]
- iKleenit. Pitch: "Keep your screens clear and your devices germ-free." Comments: Say it with me now, "Prevention doesn't sell." You know you're in for trouble when a key line in your commercial is, "Most of us don't clean our phones, let alone know how dirty they are." Um, that sounds like an argument that should have been used to kill the project before investing in a DRTV test. [a]
- Light Saver. Pitch: "The light that saves lives." Comments: Amateur hour. This wouldn't sell at $19.99, let alone $89.99. [a]
- My Top Off. Pitch: "Take your top off." Comments: No, this is not a new series by Joe Francis. It's a new style of bottle opener. It's different, but it solves a minor problem at best. A good catalog item perhaps, but unlikely to succeed on DRTV. [a]
- Push Up Pump. Pitch: "Get a full body workout in just 5 minutes a day!" Comments: Another odd and expensive piece of fitness equipment. I doubt people want to do push-ups this badly. [a]
- Reel-EZ. Pitch: "The easiest way to clean up messy cords." Comments: A classic solution in search of a problem. [a]
- Shed Pal. Pitch: "The only vacuum grooming system that pets actually prefer." Marketer: Telebrands. Comments: Generally, I have the same thoughts about this that I had about National Express's Shed Vac when it launched last year. Not sure if there's a connection since that site is down now. [a]
- Shrug Shaper. Pitch: "Look slim, trim, lifted and toned instantly!" Marketer: Kymaro/BJ Global Direct. Comments: Allstar tried something like this last summer called Skinny Arms, followed by a similar product in the fall called NuBod. Although different, I see no reason why this item would succeed where those others apparently failed. [a]
- Snap-On Feathers. Pitch: "Get the latest hair craze that's sweeping the nation!" Marketer: Telebrands. Comments: Trying to identify and tap into crazes is seldom a winning strategy for DRTV. The odds of success are bad enough without trying to hit a trend just right. I give this a 1 in 50 chance. [a]
- Survival Steel. Pitch: "Lights a fire every time" Comments: See the "shotgun to kill a fly" comment above. Cool item; wrong medium. [a]
- Up, Up and a Weigh. Marketer: Telebrands. Pitch: "You'll never be charged for overweight luggage." Comments: I don't think most Americans travel frequently enough for this to be on the top of their list of things to buy. In general, air travel items don't work on DRTV for this reason. Businesspeople tend to have a distorted view because we fly all the time, which is why such items get the green light. [a]
