Weekly Round-Up
- Get It Hoops. Starring: Dwayne Wade. Marketer: On Demand. Producer: Hutton-Miller. Pitch: "Turn any room into the ultimate basketball court." Comments: Digital activities that get kids moving are popular as a potential solution for childhood obesity and/or child lethargy in general. That makes this project right on trend, and the addition of a famous basketball star won't hurt, either. From a DR perspective, the creative is excellent but there are potential challenges with the product. A recent basketball project wasn't successful (although a recent soccer project was), and no augmented-reality project has broken through yet. That said, I suspect the plan here goes beyond mere CPOs. [ss]
- Aqua Camel. Starring: Beau Rials. Producer: Hutton-Miller. Pitch: "The water once and walk away plant-care system." Comments: Allstar's Aqua Globes was a 2008 hit. Since then, Allstar has tried three times to repeat its success with a plant hydration product (see this Aqua Chirps review for the history). No dice. That tells me this concept may be entering Siren territory. That said, I wouldn't underestimate the selling power of this pitch team. [ss]
- Pop-Up Lantern. Marketer: Harvest. Pitch: "The ultimate compact light source." Comments: Nine failed attempts to replicate the success of Olde Brooklyn Lantern and counting (see this review for the history). Even worse, this one has been tried before (see Telebrands' Pocket Lantern). Beware the Siren! [ss]
- Shiwala Magic Mop. Marketer: National Express. Pitch: "Just spray, spin and let the cleaning begin." Comments: Based on its horrible track record over the last several years, I consider floor care a dead DRTV category. I think people may be confused given all the activity surrounding the Hurricane Spin Mop, but that was not a traditional short-form success. [ss]
- Strand Bands. Pitch: "The peel and pull styling strands you weave, knot and braid." Comments: Did Rainbow Loom introduce a lasting trend? Or was it just a passing fad? From what I've seen, it's the latter. That is, Rainbow Loom followers had limited success in the moment and have had no success extending that moment. [ss]