November 13, 2014

Weekly Round-Up

  1. Body Bling. Marketer: Emson. Pitch: "The hot new metallic jewelry tattoos." Comments: Third to market with a 'me too' solution. With two powerful players already dueling, this one is going nowhere fast. [ss]
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  2. Hyper Disc. Pitch: "Spins and hovers like no other." Comments: Cool toy. Great spot and demos. Anyone's guess if it will be successful. [ss]
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  3. Lava Thaw. Marketer: Telebrands. Pitch: "Defrosts meat in minutes." Comments: A 'fast fail.' (Link goes to spot.) This could also be considered an attempt at 'Old Gold' given a similar item (Miracle Thaw) was a hit in 1995. However, this is at least the third failed attempt to bring it back (see Smart Thaw). [ss]
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  4. Plusharoos. Pitch: "Soft, cuddly toys you craft, play and decorate." Comments: Another plush toy. Yay! [ss]
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  5. Rapid Roaster. Marketer: Allstar. Pitch: "Microwave roasting pan ... delivers oven-roasted results three times faster." Comments: Another 'fast fail.' (Link goes to spot.) Despite the success of Stone Wave and Potato Express, both 2013 True Top Spenders, I continue to believe the microwave is a bad DR category. [ss]
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  6. Squeeze Driver. Marketer: Arrow. Pitch: "Just squeeze to drive screws, nuts and bolts." Comments: Unsurprisingly, manual versions of powered products don't do well on DRTV -- especially when the powered product sells for about the same price. [ss]
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  7. TruTac. Marketer: Arrow. Pitch: "Home stapler ... is your ultimate home project solution." Comments: This is a classic 'better than' product, and such products do not drive direct response. [ss]
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  8. Tush Ups. Starring: Megan Gunning. Pitch: "The new shapewear that gives you a perfect derriere." Comments: This pitch has been tried several times without success. I detail the attempts in this review. Timing is everything, though, and shapewear has certainly been a good DR category. [ss]
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  9. Unframe. Marketer: Will It Launch. Pitch: "A fast and affordable way to display family pics, greeting cards and more." Comments: Unbelievably un-DR. [ss]
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  10. Xglide. Pitch: "Speed painter ... paints everything in half the time." Comments: This is a bit of a contraption, which undermines its credibility, and the category history is pretty sparse. IdeaVillage's EdgeMaster (2001-2002) was the biggest success, and even that one failed to rise again. [ss]

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