March 17, 2016

Weekly Round-Up

  1. Pancake Express. Marketer: Spark Innovators. Pitch: "Quickly measures, mixes and dispenses." Comments: There's some reason to believe DRTV buyers are interested in pancakes, but the successes have all been pans. In 2002, Merchant Media and a company called Allied dueled with a pancake pan (Perfect Pancake vs. Pancake Wizard), and in 2013 Allstar and Telebrands dueled with an updated version (Perfect Pancake II vs. Flip Jack). I tend to doubt people will be interested in an easier way to make pancake batter, though. It's already pretty easy, and the benefit of this gadget must be weighed against its cost -- in dollars and cabinet space. [ss]
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  2. Bubble Saucer. Pitch: "The amazing flying bubble machine." Comments: Looks like fun. Kids love bubbles and many like Frisbees. Not sure if they'll buy such a thing off TV, though. [ss]
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  3. Easy Carry Clip Shadz. Pitch: "Easily clip on to your prescription eyewear." Comments: This might have a shot under the HD Vision brand with a better commercial. As it is, it's not very exciting -- and it also faces the 'segment of a segment' issue. [ss]
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  4. Forever Wipers. Pitch: "Put a razor-sharp edge on dull wiper blades." Comments: This one's a tough read. Do people think of wiper blades in the literal sense? That is, do they think of them like razor blades and believe it's sharpness that matters? I don't think of them that way, but I've never asked around to find out what others think. [ss]
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  5. Garden Genie. Pitch: "The gardening gloves that let you dig and plant without hand tools" Comments: This seems like it's designed for hard-core gardeners, and that segment has proved difficult to target. In other words, the best gardening products for DRTV have spillover appeal to non-gardeners. [ss]
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  6. Glow Sharks. Pitch: "Turn your boring, ordinary bath water into a glow-in-the-dark tub party." Comments: Given the success of Party in the Tub and Shower Wow, there may be something here. Then again, it's only good for one use (like a glow stick), so that could be a barrier to purchase. Probably a good checkout item. [ss]
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  7. Sleep Sitting Up. Pitch: "Chin pillow was designed to provide comfortable sleep while sitting up." Comments: Truly bizarre. SNL couldn't do better. I'm sad it won't go far because I'd love to see the parodies and read the online comments! [ss]
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  8. Ultimate Jar Opener. Pitch: "Makes opening jars easy." Comments: Neat item, but probably too utilitarian. There's no real "wow." [ss]

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