Description: Anti-dust mite pads
Main Pitch: "The world's first dust mite detection, capture and removal system"
Main Offer: $19.95 for a set of three
Bonus: 2nd set of three (free)
Marketer: Emson
Watch the spot
I have always argued against "selling the invisible." DRTV is a visual medium with deep roots in the pitch world, which is all about demonstrability. From this history, we know the items that will generate the strongest impulse to buy are the ones that can perform their magic right before your eyes. This is also important with commercials because people are inherently skeptical of advertising claims. The more we can stay away from dramatization and animation -- by showing actual product performance -- the more credible our claims will be.
A product that solves an invisible (or microscopic, in this case) problem is the opposite of what we should be looking for in this business. In my opinion, such items shouldn't make it past the product-evaluation phase.
The counter-argument is FabriClear, a solution for bed bugs that was a 2013 True Top Spender. But I have a few caveats. First, the way that project rolled out suggests it wasn't a strong item -- at least not at first. Second, that was probably the 10th attempt to launch a bed-bug solution. Third, there will always be outliers. Seasoned gamblers favor games with much better odds.
S7 Analysis: Until I see more than a single success, I'm going to continue to believe solutions for invisible problems fail the engaging criterion and shouldn't be tried.
