Triple Sonic

Description: A 3-head sonic toothbrush
Main Pitch: "Proven to thoroughly brush the front, back, sides and top of your teeth, all at the same time"
Main Offer: $10 for one with extra head & stand
Bonus: Double the offer (just pay a separate fee)
Starring: David Jones
Marketer: Telebrands
Website: www.TripleSonicToothbrush.com
Prediction: On the fence

Back in the day, one of the fastest ways to achieve short-form success was to identify a successful long-form product and create your own, value-priced version. (I am choosing my words carefully so as not to imply judgment.) Lately, that approach has become less common -- although it hasn't gone away entirely. The Ahh Bra/Genie Bra example comes to mind.

This is another case in point. The long-form success is 30 Second Smile from Ideal Living (formerly Sylmark), which sells for 2 payments of $29.95. This value-priced version has a very similar pitch (get results in 30 seconds, brush all parts of your teeth at once) but sells for just 1/6th the price. A guaranteed winner, right?

Not necessarily. If ever there were a chance to prove the theory that price communicates quality (a dubious idea, in my opinion), this is it. A $10 professional-quality sonic toothbrush should be a contradiction in terms. But the bigger issue for me is that 30 Second Smile has been on the market for years. If there was ever a short-form opportunity, I think it has passed. We'll see.

Smart Sprinkler

Description: A sprinkler
Main Pitch: "Lets you control the spray, so you can water exactly where you need it"
Main Offer: $19.99 for one
Bonus: Smart Timer (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Ontel
Website: www.BuySmartSprinkler.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

The problem this solves doesn't register very high on the pain scale, so I don't see this one going very far. It's also out of season now. Otherwise, this is a pretty neat item, and I can see it doing well in other channels -- maybe even at retail if people understood what it was and were presented with the option when sprinkler shopping.

Solar Top Light

Description: A solar-powered outdoor light
Main Pitch: "The wireless, self-charging light that turns on at night"
Main Offer: $14.99 for one
Bonus: 2nd one (just pay a separate fee)
Marketer: Telebrands
Producer: Kerrmercials/Paddock Productions
Website: www.SolarTopLight.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

I will soon be officially 'eating crow' about another light product from this particular marketing team (i.e. Olde Brooklyn Lantern). So does that means I am rethinking my position on the lighting category in general? Not at all.

As always, I follow the 'one is an outlier, three is a category' rule -- even when we are talking about category re-boots. And I've seen no second or third success out there that would lead me to believe the lighting category is back. If anything, I'm still seeing lots of failures, especially when pre-DRTV tests (e.g. Web tests) are taken into account.

As for this specific item, I like it but have had no success with this pitch in the past. People either don't view outdoor lighting as a pressing problem, or they don't trust DRTV products to get the job done.

Pop Arts

Description: A food cutter
Main Pitch: "Create stunning, edible masterpieces ... in just minutes"
Main Offer: $19.99 for one "popper" with 14 cut-out shapes
Bonuses: Recipe book, skewers, tomato corer, strawberry huller
Marketer: IdeaVillage
Producer: Infomercials Inc.
Website: www.PopArts.com
Prediction: On the fence

I have always thought that an at-home Edible Arrangements kit could be a DRTV success. This will be a good test of that hypothesis. My only issue is the creative is all over the place. Where it focused on fruit arrangements, I thought it was really good. When it started showing elaborate cookie arrangements and the like, it lost me. Only Martha Stewart could pull off some of the ideas shown!

Other than that, I liked it -- especially the repeated use of "sonic branding" (aka the "pop" noise) to drive interest and make the product memorable.

Weekly Round-Up

1. Codee. Producer: Hutton-Miller. Pitch: "Follow the coded combination of numbers, symbols and letter" to "twist, click and create." Comments: This seems a bit complicated and involved, but the H-M production team knows a lot more about this type of DR than I do. [ss]
 
2. Dr. Belt's Back Fix. Pitch: "Sleep well, feel well, live well." Comments: No magic and too simplistic to sell anyone. [ss]
 
3. Doodle Gelz. Marketer: Spark Innovators. Producer: Hutton-Miller. Pitch: "Just doodle, peel and stick." Comments: I am too close to this one to give an unbiased review. [ss]
 
4. EZ-Sweetz. Starring: George Stella. Pitch: "The delicious liquid sweetener that's truly zero calorie, zero carb and zero glycemic index." Comments: No one is buying a sweetener off TV, no matter who pitches it. [ss]
 
5. Micro Pedi. Marketer: Emjoi. Pitch: "Make your feet baby soft, simply and safely." Comments: Great product, but similar items have failed. Also $10 too expensive for DRTV. [ss]
 
6. My Pill Wallet. Pitch: "The easy way to store and organize your pills." Comments: There are hundreds of these at retail and in catalogs, and the few previous attempts to market a pill organizer have all failed. [ss]
 
7. Perfect Pane. Marketer: Allstar. Pitch: "The new glass treatment that protects windows for up to 12 months, guaranteed." Comments: Written by yours truly. (Watch the spot above or here.) [ss]
 
8. Rivet Strips. Pitch: "The convenience of a peel-and-stick tape with the powerful bonding strength of a permanent epoxy." Comments: This is only the second time I have ever seen a man in a gorilla suit used in a DRTV commercial. I think it will be as successful as the first time. [ss]
 
9. Seat Pets. Pitch: "Buckle up and snuggle up." Comments: Attempt #403 to hit it big with a plush toy and emulate Pillow Pets' success. It's a seatbelt! It's a pet! [ss]
 
10. Track N Go. Marketer: Allstar. "Amazing pedometer records steps, calories and more." Comments: A 'fast fail.'