Description: An LED light
Main Pitch: "The extremely portable, ultra-bright LED light that goes anywhere"
Main Offer: $19.99 for two
Bonus: Two more, remote (free)
Marketer: Telebrands
Watch the spot
There was a time back in the mid-aughts when this sort of item had a good shot at success. That was when this marketer had Stick Up Bulb on the charts, Merchant Media & Allstar had Quik-Brite and Ontel was rolling with Stick 'N Click. End of history lesson: That time has passed. Lights are No. 3 on my list of bad categories for a reason. To be sure, a big one is the failure of nine lanterns in a row, but spot lighting doesn't have a much better track record. Every once in a while, someone forces one into distribution, but that doesn't necessarily justify the investment.
S7 Analysis: An interesting subject when it comes to the art and science of product evaluation is how timing affects our criteria. In this case, spot lighting went from something that was clearly needed to something that is clearly not. What changed? Or is it that such products are no longer viewed as different enough from what's already on the market? There's no easy way to tell, which is why I imagine these projects still get a green light from time to time.
