September 18, 2012

Crazy Coat

Description: A car restorer
Main Pitch: "It's like a time machine in a bottle"
Main Offer: $10 for two 4-ounce bottles
Bonus: Two 'clean hand' applicators (just pay P&H)
Starring: Jason Williams
Marketer: IdeaVillage
Website: www.GetCrazyCoat.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

Jason Williams channels Lesko in this spot, which attempts to do something I don't think has ever been done before: Successfully sell a car restorer on short-form DRTV. Feel free to contradict me, but (with perhaps the exception of some Simoniz product) every attempt has gone nowhere. So while I don't have a problem with the creative approach per se -- someone needed to do something to break through here -- I do have a problem with the category in general.

Two other criticisms: One, it strikes me as awfully late in the season to test a car product. Don't most people focus on their cars in the spring? Two, I didn't love the demos in this spot. Most of them look gaffed, like mere water would have done the trick. I think that hurts the credibility in a way that could suppress sales.