Description: Magnetic building blocks
Main Pitch: "The bricks that stick"
Main Offer: $10 for a 54-piece set
Marketer: Telebrands
Website: www.BuyMagnaBrix.com
Prediction: On the fence
A few years ago, I tried to come up with a checklist for kid items similar to my Divine Seven or Fabulous Five checklists. Halfway through, I realized the most important criterion -- whether kids think an item is cool -- is as unpredictable as what shade of lipstick will be popular this year.
This makes kid items much riskier than normal DRTV items, in my opinion. Indeed, one could argue they are total crap shoots. That's because logical criteria like the ones we use to evaluate products for adults (does it solve a problem? is it unique in the marketplace?) don't have the same odds-improving power. We can channel our inner children, or think about what our kids might like, but the only real way to know what children like is to conduct in-person research. We can't even use the inexpensive online research methods that have become popular in recent years.
With all of that in mind, I look at this product and see something that could plausibly be a hit. It certainly meets some of the other criteria we throw around, such as "good play value." Moreover, the creative is solid and avoids the sappy, cheesy moments I see too often in other DR commercials targeting kids.
Oh, and hey! It's not a plush toy! Kudos for that.
