The multi-talented Craig Burnett
Description: A flexible light
Main Pitch: "Expands instantly where it's hard to see ... just extend it and bend it"
Main Offer: $10 for one
Bonus: 2nd one (just pay a separate fee)
Starring: Craig Burnett
Marketer: Telebrands
Producer: Kerrmercials
Watch the spot
Since today's collection of posts is awfully close to becoming another "Telebrands Round-Up," let me start this post with praise for the commercial. Specifically, I want to call out one of the hardest working men in DRTV today: Mr. Craig Burnett.
Check out the opening of this commercial, and you'll see just one of his many talents on display. I laughed out loud! Besides hilarious slapstick (here's another great example from one we did together), he also does serious spokesman work and is one of the most often heard 'voices of DR' on TV today. Pitchmen, marketers and producers tend to get all the attention in this business, but there are several other folks who deserve to be known. Mr. Burnett is certainly one of them. I can't think of anyone else with his unique combination of useful skills.
Switching gears to the product: Besides being funny and phallic and weird, it happens to be from one of the worse categories in DRTV right now. Even the specific sub-category has nothing but flops to its name recently. There's my Ever Light flashlight from June of this year (side note: guess who did the VO?), MicroMax from last year, Green Beam from 2011 and Literoo from 2010 -- just to name a few. In fact, you have to go back to the Faraday Flashlight and 2006 to find a successful flashlight.
S7 Analysis: The big fail here is the needed criterion (he said with 20/20 hindsight). Just about every smart phone has a built-in flashlight, and just about everyone has a smart phone. This also fails the uncrowded criterion for categories since flashlights are more plentiful and cheap than just about any other type of product.
