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- Mighty Meatball. Starring: Marc Gill. Marketer: Spark Innovators. Producer: The Schwartz Group. Pitch: "Shape, stuff and seal four delicious meatballs at once." Comments: Stufz, the hamburger version of this idea, was a mid-year 2014 True Top Spender. Although the meatloaf version of this idea didn't work, I think it's possible the meatball version will. Made me hungry! Come to think of it, I'm surprised this wasn't tried as part of a new Stufz line. It would also make a good addition to Allstar's 'Perfect' line. [ss]
- Adjust A Plug. Marketer: Allstar. Pitch: "Plug in hundreds of different size adapters without blocking another socket." Comments: An apparent 'fast fail.' The $29.95 price point may have had something to do with it. Side Socket was $14.95 and, more to the point, was likely an outlier instead of a category. [ss]
- Chop N Twist. Pitch: "Easily rotate your foods as you chop them." Comments: "Easily" implies difficulty, but I don't know a single person who has difficulty rotating their food when chopping it. Talk about a contrived problem! [ss]
- Cord Cruncher. Pitch: "The retractable ear bud system ... with no tangles, ever." Comments: For some reason, I have evaluated at least a half dozen solutions for tangled headphone cords in the last few years. It's a classic case of developers mistaking an annoyance for a real problem. (Or solving an "itch" not a "heart attack," if you prefer the language of the Fabulous Five.) As I've mentioned, the tech-accessory category also has a terrible track record on DRTV. [ss]
- Hanger Jack Scroll. Marketer: Will It Launch. Pitch: "Provides hanging space when you need it." Comments: Although better in quality than the last few products from this marketer, this product also has no shot at success. The reason is category history: Every attempt to market an outside-of-the-closet hanging solution has failed, and there have been many over the years. [ss]
- iSeeit. Pitch: "Lights up your remote control in the dark." Comments: A solution in search of a problem. [ss]
- Nu Seat. Marketer: Eagle Eye. Producer: Opfer. Pitch: "Slip-on auto seat cover" covers "years of damage, dirt and grime." Comments: This is the car version of EZ Covers. That one didn't work, and it is unlikely this one will, either. That's probably because too small of a segment drives cars beat up enough for this to be a real problem. [ss]
- Stay Cold. Pitch: "Keeps your drinks ice cold from the first sip to the last." Comments: I didn't realize Larry The Cable Guy had fallen on such hard times! Anyway, this is WAY out of season given the snowstorms crippling many parts of the country right now. Even in season, this won't work because it doesn't solve a real problem. Neat party trick, though. [ss]
