Weekly Round-Up

1. Master Wrench. Marketer/Producer: Infomercials Inc. Pitch: "Removes any stripped nut or bolt in seconds with just one tool." Comments: Doug Fowkes is one of a kind, an insane creative genius who does things completely out of proportion to the needs of our industry -- and it works! It's as if Steven Spielberg or Ridley Scott decided to do DR for fun in their spare time. Just take note of the musical 'score' for this commercial, and you'll see what I mean. It's worthy of one of those epic Greek war movies or perhaps the Old Testament stories they keep making (Noah, Exodus: Gods & Kings). Because his approach is so unparalleled, it's hard to predict the outcome of his projects. Normal criteria don't apply. For instance, I hated Spicy Shelf as an item and would never have guessed it would be on my True Top Spenders of 2014. With that in mind, I would like to state -- with no particular conclusions drawn -- that this item has been tried before without success. See Wrench-O-Matic. [ss]
 
2. Bye Bye Bunion. Pitch: "The revolutionary under-shoe solution to bunion pain and pressure." Comments: This site is already down, so it's either a massive hit or ... As I wrote last May in a review for a similarly named product (Bye Bye Blisters), such solutions are too close to one of the worst DR categories (insoles) for my liking. [ss]
 
3. Chocolate Bar Maker. Pitch: "Create any chocolate bar you can imagine." Comments: This seems like a lot of work to enjoy something that's cheap to buy and best eaten quickly before anyone finds out! [ss]
 
4. Easy Tray. Pitch: "The world's first mobile personal tray." Comments: There's a reason it's the world's first. [ss]
 
5. Flexi Lite. Pitch: "Battery-operated flexible LED light strips." Comments: This is a third attempt to find success with this concept after Slim Brites (reviewed last May) and Underlight (reviewed last October). In DR, the third time is seldom the charm. [ss]
 
6. Furniture Feet. Marketer: Ontel. Pitch: "Stretchable furniture boots protect floors from scratches and scuffs." Comments: This is Floorzies with a new name and a new marketer. [ss]
 
7. iSpy. Producer: The Schwartz Group. Pitch: "The scientific way to reveal, target and expose invisible hazards." Comments: This is similar to the bonus items for Urine Gone (a 2005-2006 hit) and the revival attempt, Stream Clean. It will be interesting to see if it can stand alone as an item. [ss]
 
8. Milana Bra. Brand: Genie. Marketer: Tristar. Pitch: "The comfort, lift and support of Genie with a sexy lace cami." Comments: The latest addition to the Genie line. Or is it a new version of Cami Shaper? I'm not exactly sure. [ss]
 
9. Perfect Cushion. Pitch: "Microfiber memory foam cushion provides superior comfort for your back and bottom." Comments: It's probably too soon after Allstar's Forever Comfy (a 2012 & 2013 True Top Spender) for this to be successful, and this version doesn't look nearly as comfortable. [ss]
 
10. Slushy Magic Max. Marketer: Ontel. Producer: Hutton-Miller. Pitch: "Now 30% bigger making it more frozen fun for everyone." Comments: A classic application of the 'pro' strategy and more evidence that line extensions are a growing trend. [ss]
 
11. Sparkleez. Pitch: "The shiny, tiny world you bring to life with your imagination." Comments: This is a coloring kit that is not targeted toward adults, so I like it! [ss]