Weekly Round-Up

1. Bionic Bond. Marketer: Spark Innovators. Pitch: "The multi-purpose epoxy that permanently bonds almost anything in just seconds." Comments: I don't know a lot about this category, but this particular item doesn't strike me as particularly unique. I feel like it's something a motivated DIYer could easily find at the hardware store. Then again, the same could have been said of the plumber's putty that the late, great Billy Mays and the team at Hutton-Miller (recently named True Top Producer) made into the mega-hit known as Mighty Putty circa 2007. [ss]
 
2. Cuddle Cool Pillow. Marketer: Telebrands. Pitch: "The pillow engineered to keep you cool." Comments: The site for this is already down, so I'm just posting for posterity. Everyone knows my thoughts on pillows these days, and I have been down this particular road myself (see Cool 'N Comfy). It's a dead end. [ss]
 
3. Arbee Recipe Butler. Pitch: "Serve up your recipe on a silver platter." Comments: An over-engineered solution in search of a problem. [ss]
 
4. Catch It All. Pitch: "A new and better way to tackle food-prep mess and so much more." Comments: This reminds me of Scoop It, a 2011 no-go that I actually liked and that was a better solution than this bulkier contraption. [ss]
 
5. Chef''s Thumb. Starring: Greg Stacy. Pitch: "No more slipping, no more fumbling, no more cuts." Comments: This is a neat little item, but it's strikes me as a better premium than a main product. Also, the problems presented aren't very high on the scale as most people have figured out how to slice food without going to the emergency room. [ss]
 
6. Easy-Reach Loofa. Pitch: "Wash, exfoliate and clean those hard-to-reach areas." Comments: Similar items have appeared in catalogs for years, but none ever made it out of pre-DRTV research and testing. I just don't think it's a big enough problem. This version is also huge! [ss]
 
7. Gerp. Pitch: "It's a handle. It's a stand." Comments: It's the worst category in DR. It's a bomb. [ss]
 
8. HD Cable Stick. Pitch: "Watch all your favorite shows in stunning HD quality that's better than cable and Internet." Comments: With Tristar's Clear TV in roll-out and a 2014 True Top Spender, this project is second to market with a me-too solution. It could even be considered third to market as Telebrands rolled out a variation, called Rabbit TV, in 2013. [ss]
 
9. Magic Tatts. Pitch: "The colorful new tattoos that come to life on you." Comments: These new augmented reality apps are truly amazing! If wow factor matters, this one should do well. Body art for kids has also been successful in the past (see IdeaVillage's Shimmer). My only criticism: The commercial has too many forced rhymes. [ss]
 
10. Snoozeball. Pitch: "Sleep tight on your next flight." Comments: As I've shared before, my hypothesis is that Americans don't travel enough to buy travel products off DRTV -- and the problems only start there. The unattractive design of the product is another major issue. [ss]