Outside the box

Ok, so I occasionally stay up late and happen to see the odd cable channel commercials that leave me shaking my head. I tend to think out of the box but a few recent As-Seen-on-TV ads have taken this to the extreme. First is the Snuggie. When did having a nice blanket to cuddle in become not good enough? Now they have this blanket that you actually wear like a robe with holes cut out and sleeves. I constantly make fun of this ad but it is probably the ad that I will long remember among all other ads. What is it about this ad that is so memorable? The concept, the bad family actors, the tacky camera work, and the ugly colors might have something to do with it. I have to admit, there have been several occasions this winter where I could have envisioned myself on the couch with my very own Snuggie, especially with our effort to conserve oil by turning back the heat. I suppose I ought to be willing to try something this out-of-the-box in this day and age to drum up business.

The other TV ad that got me thinking was the Topsy Turvy upside down tomato plant hanger. I never knew you could grow a plant upside down. I wonder who the first person was to stumble upon this idea. It had to be an accident or maybe the plant pot tipped over and they left it there. I always thought plants grew upward toward the sun but gravity kind of overrides logic in this case. For $19.99 anyone can buy this marvelous invention and supposedly be able to harvest tomatoes up to a month earlier than with convetional growing methods. I can see many crops that this would be applicable to. What's next....hanging carrots? I can see a world record 1500 pound pumpkin in the near future all because of the Topsy Turvy.

All these ideas are silly and far fetched but I imagine someone's making a boat load of money and they were willing to take the risk by thinking outside the box. I can guarantee The Topsy Turvy company had to ask more than one investor before they got financing for this idea. Persistence is probably the other key factor. Now if you'll excuse me, I just spilled my coffee so I am going to clean up with my new Shamwow.