Weekly Round-Up

1. Perfect Toaster. Marketer: Tristar. Pitch: "Watch the toasting process and make perfect toast, just the way you like." Comments: This is a very interesting experiment in what Al Eicoff dubbed K.O.M. (Key Outlet Marketing). In his 1982 autobiography Or Your Money Back, Eicoff writes: "[KOM] involved finding a chain of stores that would agree to exclusive distribution for direct-response items. At the end of the commercial, we would merely substitute names of the store for the phone number and address found in direct-response spots."
   
   Today, we call it "tagging retailers," and it's fairly common. But Tristar is trying more of a throwback approach by tagging only one chain: Wal-Mart. The company is also using a higher-priced item ($40), in a crowded category (toasters) and linking its Website directly to WalMart.com. Is this another example of the 'hybrid shift' I wrote about recently? [ss]
 
2. Brazilian Diet. Pitch: "Take it off like a Brazilian." Comments: I have no means of guessing whether this product will be a hit, since the diet category follows a totally different DR model than the one I know. That said, when I saw the word "fogo" on the box, I thought about gauchos serving people in a never-ending parade of meat on swords -- and that kind of unbridled gluttony can't be what this marketer had in mind! [ss]
 
3. Broomy. Marketer: Allstar. Producer: Bluewater. Pitch: "The transformable broom and dust pan." Comments: This one appears to be another 'fast fail.' Too bad. The product is remarkably innovative and the creative execution is excellent. For now, you can watch the spot here. [ss]
 
4. Cardio Poles. Pitch: "Now you can supercharge your walk and get fit faster." Comments: I like this one a lot. The product is innovative, and I think the concept will appeal to all kinds of people, especially the core demo for DRTV. If they can get past the social risk barrier, I think this one will be a hit. [ss]
 
5. Magna Nails. Marketer: InvenTel. Pitch: "Instantly transform your nails into a metallic work of art." Comments: Nails have been hit or miss on DRTV, probably because the category is so cluttered at retail. I think you need something over-the-top amazing to break through, and this doesn't strike me as the one. [ss]