Weekly Round-Up

1. Jiffy Fries. Marketer: Edison Nation. Pitch: "The fast, fresh, easy way to make perfect fries every day." Comments: My first instinct was to compare this to Perfect Fries and predict "unlikely to succeed." But this is more than a fry cutter: It's also a fry cooker. Even the way it cuts seems more likely to succeed now that Chop Magic is in rollout. It's another microwave product -- normally a negative -- but I've been wrong about potatoes in the microwave before. Official prediction: On the fence. Excellent creative, incidentally, which can only help. [ss]
 
2. Breathe Active. Starring: Brian Fasulo. Pitch: Expands "your air intake up to 70% ... while significantly decreasing snoring." Comments: This is a 'better than' Breathe Right and more of a retail item than a DRTV item. [ss]
 
3. CeramaBrush. Marketer: Eagle Eye. Producer: Monte-Brooks. Pitch: "Ceramic straightening brush straightens hair twice as fast for twice the shine." Comments: The category history for hair brushes isn't great, but there has been the occasional rollout. [ss]
 
4. ComfiShape. Pitch: "Ultra comfortable shaping leggings with attached skirt." Comments: This item is more fashion choice than problem solver, so I'm not surprised it was a 'fast fail.' [ss]
 
5. Simoniz Eyeglass Polish. Pitch: "The fast, easy way to clean, polish and condition eyeglasses." Comments: This one has powerful competition. [ss]
 
6. Gripeez. Pitch: "Reusable gripping pad lets you hang any object anywhere in just seconds." Comments: Credibility is the problem here as the failure of two similar items (Jerry Hook, Nano Hooks) demonstrated. I also think it's less useful than those other products were. [ss]
 
7. Hydro Heel. Producer: Classitech. Pitch: "Get rid of rough, dry, cracked heels in minutes." Comments: This has been tried on DRTV before (see No. 2 in this Weekly Round-Up) without success. [ss]
 
8. Juice Wizard. Pitch: "Separates peel and fiber for instant pure, fresh juice." Comments: Juicers have done extremely well in long form at high prices, so a value-priced juicer has a decent shot. On the other hand, taking something that's typically powered and making it manual hasn't been a successful strategy. I'm thinking about manual food processors such as the Kitchen King Pro, for example. [ss]
 
9. Kleva Edge. Starring: James Cheney. Pitch: "Opens all cans quickly and easily without the mess and without the stress." Comments: If a truly 'kleva' product such as the One Touch Can Opener can't make a comeback, I don't think this Safety Can revival from Down Under has a chance. Solid pitch work, though. [ss]
 
10. Rocky Mountain Knife. Starring: Thom Buck. Marketer: Spark Innovators. Pitch: "All the strength and tools to help you survive." Comments: The 80s called ... They want their knife back! (HT: Radio Shack) The short name/URL for this is "Rocky Knife," which is ironic given that this is a classic Rambo knife from 30 years ago. I had one and loved it. Hey, Stallone is making movies again, so you never know! [ss]
 
11. Seat Tweener. Pitch: "Prevents dropped items (in your car) from becoming lost items." Comments: I submit that any time you find yourself saying or writing "it's a frustrating annoyance," you should stop and reconsider the project. Painful problems generate the impulse to buy. Anything less and your odds go way down. Not to mention: This has already been tried -- twice. See Kleva Catch (No. 8 in this Weekly Round-Up) and Drop Stop (in that post's comments). [ss]
 
12. Sleep 8. Pitch: "Eliminates 100% of light and blocks out ambient noise." Comments: This will only appeal to a segment of a segment, which makes the odds of success very low. [ss]
 
13. Snuggle Case Pets. Pitch: "The soft, on the go smartphone case for kids." Comments: Cute idea that meets a need, but there are a lot of solutions to the problem already on the market. [ss]
 
14. Super Back. Marketer: Spark Innovators. Pitch: "In shower, rinse away back hair removal system." Comments: There's a lot of gross factor in this commercial, but that isn't always a bad thing (see Ped Egg). More to the point, hirsute males are a segment of a segment. [ss]