December 27, 2012

Power Puff

Description: A vibrating makeup applicator
Main Pitch: "Gives you a flawless finish every time"
Main Offer: $19.99 for one with three pads
Bonus: Lighted makeup mirror & travel case (just pay P&H)
Marketer: Ontel
Producer: Blue Moon Studios
Website: www.GetPowerPuff.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

This one strikes me as a solution in search of a problem. At best, it's low on the problem scale. Most women I know seem to be able to apply their makeup just fine. The proof is in the pitch, which had to reach for a more aspirational promise: perfection. And that's always tricky from a credibility standpoint.

Not that this product is without merit. In this November post, I mentioned an innovation technique that looks at a successful invention and asks, "What else can it be?" The creators of this product obviously did that with Gilette's vibrating razor, the Fusion. However, an additional question DR marketers should ask in these situations is, "Would the original invention have been successful on DRTV?" In the case of the Gilette Fusion, my answer is no. The "VibraShave Pro," or whatever name a DR player would have used, would most likely have flopped.