Be Active

Description:A solution for sciatica pain
Main Pitch: "Instantly helps ease discomfort in your lower back, buttocks and legs"
Main Offer: $10 for one
Bonus: 2nd one (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Top Dog
Producer: Concepts
Website: www.BeActiveBrace.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

I could easily rely on a catch-phrase here to explain why I think this project won't work (can you guess which one?), but category history tells the tale. Since the Back Relief Belt was a modest success in 2006 (No. 55 on the JW Annual that year), no attempt to find a hit in the back-relief category has been successful -- at least not in short form. My 2012 Happy Back review details the history.

Even a 2012 attempt to bring back the Back Relief Belt itself failed. On top of that, this particular item has a credibility barrier to overcome and claims to worry about. I wouldn't have gone forward, but I'm sure the Top Dog guys know something I don't.

Yo Baby Kick Flipper

Description: A skateboard training aid
Main Pitch: "Learn to skateboard like the pros"
Main Offer: $19.95 for one plus DVD, stickers and poster
Bonus: Double the offer (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Allstar
Website: www.MyYoBaby.com
Prediction: N/A

I have no criteria or data to help me guess whether a product such as this can be successful on DRTV. The price is right, but the category is all over the place. For instance, the last item I can think of like this one was Tristar's Zike at $200. No idea if it was successful or what success even looks like in this category since this isn't your typical ASOTV end-cap item.

Weekly Round-Up

1. Bike Lightning. Marketer: Tristar. Pitch: "Trick out your ride with these super-bright LED lights." Comments: An apparent 'fast fail' (link goes to spot). Cool product and a well-done spot. But as I've often lamented, kid products are highly unpredictable. [ss]
 
2. Curl Girl. Pitch: "Get salon quality hair styles at home." Marketer: Viatek. Comments: This category has improved from 1 in 50 to 1 in 25 thanks to the pioneering work of Allstar ... but 1 in 25 is still below-average odds. [ss]
 
3. Face Bright. Producer: Blue Moon Studios. Pitch: "Transforms a regular bathroom mirror into a perfectly lit makeup mirror in seconds." Comments: Another 'fast fail' (link goes to spot). My guess is women already have a favorite vanity that does what they need it to do. If not, there are tons of options out there. [ss]
 
4. Pocket Shot. Marketer: Will It Launch. Pitch: "Mounts any phone, in any case, anywhere." Comments: Will it launch? I doubt it. My thinking on camera-phone accessories is they defeat the purpose. A camera phone is highly portable and always at hand. If you are prepared enough to carry an additional accessory, you're prepared enough to pack your real camera and tripod/monopod/etc. [ss]
 
5. Tatt Over. Pitch: "Hide your tattoo the easy way." Marketer: Telebrands. Comments: Yet another 'fast fail.' Because of the 'segment of a segment' problem, nothing to do with tattoos has fared well on DRTV (e.g. Hena Tatz, Kickin' Ink). IdeaVillage's Shimmer is the closest thing that had success. And this product sought to serve a segment of the sub-segment that likes (or liked) tattoos. [ss]
 

Secret Cinch

Description: A cinch for pants
Main Pitch: "Your secret to closing that revealing waistband gap for good"
Main Offer: $10 for three plus Secret Hem Tape
Bonus: Double the offer (just pay P&H)
Starring: Jennifer Higgins
Marketer: On Demand
Producer: Hutton-Miller
Website: www.SecretCinch.com
Prediction: On the fence

If Ms. Higgins is truly the inventor of this product, which would imply she's not an experienced presenter, I'm impressed. She does an excellent job of pitching her invention.

As for the product, I'm undecided because of the mixed history. On the bright side, a solution for hiding 'plumber's crack' has been successful: Allstar's Trendy Top was a 2012 True Top Spender. On the other hand, belts that have addressed this problem flopped in both 2010 (Ontel's Slim Belt) and 2011 (Allstar's IncrediBelt).

A working hypothesis: Perhaps garment solutions are more appealing than belts or cinches for some reason. I'm tempted to add that attaching something to one's clothing could be a reason why (in this case), but it didn't seem to hurt Merchant's Style Snaps (a 2011 True Top Spender).

Weekly Round-Up

1. Touch Purse. Marketer: Spark Innovators. Producer: Monte-Brooks. Pitch: "Little purse holds it all and ... lets you use your touch-screen phone without having to remove it." Comments: This one was No. 23 on the Jordan Whitney last week, so I'm just posting for posterity. [ss]
 
2. Pasta Swing. Starring: Mario Rizzotti. Marketer: Telebrands. Pitch: "Cook, drain and serve pasta from one pan." Comments: An apparent 'fast fail.' (You can still watch the amusing spot on YouTube.) I like this product, but this is the second time it has been tried on DRTV without success. The first time was a 2008 Allstar test under the name Pivot Pot. [ss]
 
3. BBQ Dragon. Pitch: "Supercharge your BBQ with the revolutionary fire starter." Comments: I love to grill and would love to have this product. But even I'm not paying $50 for it! The difficulties of capitalizing on grill season have also been detailed on this blog before. Guess we'll see how the Miracle Grill Mat and Yoshi Grill & Bake Mat end up doing at retail. [ss]
 
4. Fing. Pitch: "The ultimate game controller for your touch-screen device." Comments: Wrong demo for DR, and so far nothing in this general category has worked. [ss]
 
5. Swing N Shape. Producer: Avalanche. Pitch: "The new, better way to tone your whole body." Comments: I can't think of a recent female fitness success in short form, but feel free to use the comments section to correct me if I'm wrong. [ss]
 
6. Swipets. Pitch: "Pulls pet hair from virtually everything." Comments: This project has been tried using all different kinds of creatives. A DR attempt is here. But this one is my favorite! Anyway, it doesn't appear to be going anywhere. As for the category, here's a brief history: Power Picker Upper/Magic Lint Remover (two hits in the 'Golden Age'), Lint Wizard Pro (flop in 2008), Mr. Sticky (flop in 2009), Sticky Wicky (flop in 2010), Pet Hair Picksy (flop in 2010) and Schticky/Sticky Buddy (two True Top Spenders for 2012). So the history is decidedly mixed. [ss]
 
7. Titan Chef. Pitch: "Super balance, cutting power and resilience." Comments: Although this project doesn't have much to offer in the way of a point of difference, the value proposition is certainly unbeatable. It will be interesting to see what happens given knife history is all over the place. For every Yoshi Blade and Aero Knife, there's a Yoshi Glide and Fire & Ice Knife. And the Sharpware steak knives I really liked don't seem to have gone anywhere. [ss]