February 25, 2014

Night View Visor

Description: A visor accesory
Main Pitch: "Turn fuzzy and dull into clear and bright ... especially at night"
Main Offer: $10 for one
Bonus: 2nd one (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Top Dog
Producer: Hutton-Miller
Website: www.NightViewVisor.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

This project isn't quite "third to market with a me-too solution," and it isn't quite a triple duel, either. But it is a close cousin of both and a poor choice as a result.

The other relevant campaigns here, both of which appear to be rolling out, are Easy View HD and HD Vision Visor. This isn't technically a "me-too" because it reverses the pitch of the latter, focusing on night and then day, and the former only focuses on day. (Actually, the original HD Vision Visor commercial was day then night. It has now been changed to lead with night.) This also isn't a "triple duel" because it's coming out six months after Easy View HD and nearly two months after HD Vision Visor, both of which will be formidable given such big head-starts.

Some other points of interest: This is a line and brand extension of Night View glasses (see No. 9), which interestingly is a first-to-market hit that was followed (also six months later) by a me-too competitor (HD Vision Night Vision Wraparounds). The second-to-market company in that case is also the second-to-market company in this case (IdeaVillage). Confused yet? Well, such is the state of DR these days!

Finally, a note on the creative: The testimonials technique used in this commercial neatly solves the problem I identified with the HD Vision Visor creative. No setup is required in this spot because the car isn't moving. Of course, that attention to detail shouldn't be a surprise given the commercial was created by a True Top Producer that also happens to do the best testimonials in the business.