October 02, 2014

Beauty Buns

Description: Butt-lifting leggings
Main Pitch: "Go from flat to fab instantly"
Main Offer: $29.99 for one pair
Bonus: 2nd pair for half price
Marketer: Hampton Direct
Producer: Concepts TV
Website: www.BeautyBuns.com
Prediction: Unlikely to succeed

Several butt-enhancing garments have been tried on TV, none with any success. My favorite was the first, a product called Booty Pop. Although it got some favorable press coverage, it never took off. A subsequent attempt hit a positioning point also found in this commercial. It was called Brazilian Secret. Apparently, Brazil is as famous for its butts as it is for its lack of hair on the, um, flip side. Or at least someone is trying to brand-extend (?) that marketing concept.

In any case, category history suggests faking a big butt isn't as important to women as faking a big bust, so I give this one low odds of success. Of course, the big butt has become more visible these days (thank you Kim Kardashian and Nicky Minaj), so the trend could be moving in the right direction.

On a related note, this isn't the first time a shapewear/leggings crossover has been tried. Tristar added Slim & Tone Leggings to its "Genie" line a year ago. That garment isn't about enhancing the butt per se, but shaping the area is one of its five focuses.