Chart Watch: Return of the 'DR Duel'?
Soon after the Golden Age of DRTV, dark times of chaos fell upon the land. During these days, if multiple marketers identified a hot product opportunity, it wasn’t unusual for them all to pursue it at once. It was “every man for himself,” and “may the best marketer win.” A classic example is The Pasta Pot Wars of 2003.
After many years, though, the marketers tired of the bloody losses from this approach to doing business, and there was a long period of détente where such brutal forms of competition were no longer in favor. Gentlemen’s rules prevailed, and many were heard to remark that there were “plenty of opportunities to go around.”
But DRTV history has a way of repeating itself.
Sometime in early 2011, the marketers forgot the costs of war and the long peace was broken. The skirmishes began as head-to-head competitions between two players, neither of whom was willing to back down. I first documented this return to bellicosity in an April 2011 column for the now-defunct Response magazine, dubbing the practice “dueling” and featuring three such engagements that were happening at the same time.
Such duels raged and increased in frequency until once again multi-way battles broke out across the land. Memorable moments during this period include the Nail Grooming Frenzy of Christmas 2015 and, of course, the infamous Pan Wars of 2016. The latter was a prolonged season of combat so bloody, that it once again exhausted all combatants, ridding them of their taste for war. A new period of peace began, and that peace has reigned…until last week?
Right as summer was ending and kids were preparing to return to school, the first DR duel in nearly six years hit the airwaves. The product: a reusable water balloon that our product research team notes1 has been trending on social (see, for example, this product on Pinterest).
On the creative side, the duel rekindles a storied rivalry between two former business partners. I’ll let you judge for yourself who has the upper hand in this contest (if either).
SPLASH WOW
Pitch: “Splashin' fun for everyone”
Offer: $19.99 for 12 in six different colors, free mesh bag
Marketer: Top Dog Direct
Producer: Hutton-Miller
SPLASH MAGIC
Pitch: “Endless summer fun without the mess”
Offer: $12.99 for five
Marketer: Ontel Products Corp.
Producer: The Schwartz Group
DRTV history buffs may recall that this isn’t the first time reusable water balloons have been tried. In fact, the first test of a similar item was right near the end of The Pan Wars. In 2016, a feeder company known as Lenfest tested Dunkaloons. The following year, the marketers of the Wubble Bubble (NSI) also ran with the concept under the name Water Wubble.
Fun fact: Hutton-Miller produced both of those commercials.
I’m planning to write a weekly post — for paid subscribers only — that covers other interesting items from our team that are trending online and may be of interest to DRTV marketers.