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- Body Back Buddy. Pitch: "Treat hard-to-reach sore muscles quickly and effectively." Comments: Odd-looking and expensive. Not much better than its predecessor, really. [a]
- Fuel Shark. Pitch: "Get up to 10% or more miles per gallon." Comments: Assuming this passes the sniff test for most people (a big assumption), I think these claims are likely to make the government come knocking (see Duralube). [a]
- Glow Grip. Pitch: "Glow in the dark super grip traction strips." Starring: David Jones. Comments: This product is from the people who brought you Uglu, but I think it is much less useful than that other product. Try thinking of three places in your home you would really use this, and you'll quickly see the problem. [a]
- Grabability. Starring: Adam Jay. Marketer: Allstar. Producer: Jordan Direct. Pitch: "Reach and grab in places you thought impossible." Comments: Neat product, bad name. I also found the 4-in-1 explanation confusing. In any case, past history suggests this "mini-Gopher" type of product doesn't really "grab" people. [a]
- Happy Wrap. Pitch: "The drug-free solution for separation anxiety, thunder, excessive barking and even jumping." Marketer: Allstar. Producer: Blue Moon Studios. Comments: My initial thought was this only appeals to a 'segment of a segment,' but I said the same thing about Barkoff and was clearly wrong. Besides, if it's good enough for Angela V., it's good enough for me! [a]
- Just Hit The Button. Pitch: The "Internet cutoff switch." Comments: Amateur hour. Prediction: Bomb. [a]
- Neckline Lifts. Pitch: "Tighten and tone in an instant." Comments: Before Dream Look (No. 14 on my spring True Top 50), I would have quickly dismissed this. But with better creative, who knows? [a]
- Office Abs. Pitch: "The ultimate ab workout that you can do while you work." Marketer: Telebrands. Comments: The site is already down. For the record, I've never heard of a succesful office workout product. That's probably because many (if not most) DRTV buyers are above the age of retirement. [a]
- Perfect Pocket. Pitch: "The fast, fun and easy way to make delicious filled food every day." Comments: If you have to go the store to buy pre-made dough, why wouldn't you just buy the pre-made finished versions of the food this makes? [a]
- Push Up Pump. Pitch: "Supports your body weight up to 78%, protecting your back 100% of the time." Comments: BodyRev's Perfect Pushup made pushups more difficult and was a big success. This does the opposite and costs five times as much. I don't see how that's a recipe for success. [a]
- Sonic Whisk. Pitch: "One pump is like whisking 10 times." Comments: I'm on the fence about this one. As a general rule, manual versions of powered products don't do well (see Kitchen King Pro). But the demos are neat, and sometimes these simple, inexpensive items become sleeper hits. [a]
- Spring Bak. Pitch: "Run faster, jump higher, lessen fatigue." Comments: I was excited about the promise of this product ... until I actually saw it. When I realized it was just another pair of insoles, it was a big let-down. So many insoles have failed on DRTV -- even cool ones like Impact Gel -- that the category is on my 'don't even bother' list (more on this here). [a]
- Stroll Control. Pitch: "The painless, instant way to keep any dog ... under control whenever you go for a walk." Marketer: Telebrands. Producer: Sullivan. Comments: I like the product and the commercial, but Allstar and Concepts tried a similar product a few years ago that was never heard from again. Maybe this time will be different? [a]
- Travel Table. Pitch: "Turns your pull-behind luggage handle into a productive workspace." Comments: This one is DOA. DRTV is not the proper medium for reaching this target market. [a]
