Description: Ceramic knife that’s sharper and longer lasting than steel
Main Pitch: "40 percent sharper than steel"
Main Offer: $19.95 for one, all-purpose ceramic knife
Bonus: Ceramic Peeler (just pay S&H)
Website: www.YoshiBlade.com
By John Miller & Peter Hutton (more)
Ceramic knives are a hot category right now with a high-perceived value. The Yoshi Blade looks like a good entry into this category and the inclusion of the bonus ceramic peeler is compelling. What’s critical in selling this product is really separating it from the other knives that have been marketed in the past. With so many competing knives out there already offered with high piece counts, the only chance this item is going to have is real emphasis on the ceramic blade.
The commercial does attempt to do this but the message seems to get lost in a flurry of rapid edits and an excess number of facts that overwhelm the first 20 seconds of the spot; e.g., “40 percent sharper,” “10 times longer,” “1,400 degrees.” There is no established problem with old-fashioned steel knives. The commercial just jumps right into split screens and loosely arranged copy points.
(Note to all producers: Claiming a product is “space age” doesn’t have the same impact as it did 30 years ago. It’s probably safe to officially retire that phrase from DRTV once and for all.)
There is also too much demonstration with the same professional chef (removing his wedding ring might have helped de-emphasize that the majority of shots featured the same pro). We would love to have seen some everyday moms using the Yoshi Blade with more contrast to the old way of cutting.
The strongest demo happens when a knife sharpener is actually destroyed by the Yoshi Blade. Unfortunately, this demo isn’t paid off with a practical sharpness application, like easily cutting through hard crunchy bread or something. More demos like this one should have been included to create some more memorable moments.
There was also a missed opportunity to turn the potentially negative point that Yoshi Blade is only one knife into a positive one. Perhaps “say goodbye to a drawer or counter full of dull knives … Yoshi Blade takes up no space and does the work of all these knives.”
Overall, this spot is a decent effort but falls short of making the impact that it could. While it does a good job at highlighting the features of a ceramic blade, it does very little to show a prospective buyer why these features will make life in the kitchen any easier.
All that said, there hasn’t really been a successful single knife sold on TV since the Ginsu. Without offering a full set of Yoshi Blades, the marketers are fighting an uphill battle.
