Previous
Sales of Slowmo Movies Show Great Bouncebackability
Added: (Mon Mar 28 2005)
Two novelty DVDs, 'Slowmo Boy' and 'Slowmo Girl', which failed to make any impression on the pre-Christmas market when they were released by bouncingparcels.com in December, have seen sales pick up dramatically since then, simply by adding the phrase "Now with extra bouncebackability" to the packaging.
The word 'bouncebackability', which was coined by Crystal Palace manager Iain Dowie and championed by the satellite television programme Soccer AM , is the subject of a major internet campaign for it's inclusion into the Oxford English Dictionary.
"All we've done," explained bouncingparcels.com founder, Robert King, "is quite unashamedly, jumped on the bandwagon. Our sales were moving slower than the subjects of our movies and we needed to do something fast."
"I think what happens when you've got 'bouncebackability' on your web site," he continued, "is that more people stumble across it accidentally. Once they're there, then the selling process becomes a whole lot easier."
If you've seen what bouncingparcels.com is selling, then you might find this hard to believe. Slowmo Boy is a 60 minute movie which features nothing more than an extreme close-up of a rippling lycra-clad groin, a la Linford Christie in his pomp. Slowmo Girl draws more on Pamela Anderson and the Baywatch genre with an undulating swim-suited bosom the entire focus of the action. Both subjects move in what King describes as "glorious" slow motion. He also believes they ably demonstrate a physical interpretation of the word 'bouncebackability'.
"The main problem we've had is the 18 certificate the BBFC handed out," King continued. "I think people might have been expecting nudity, but there isn't any. These DVDs are just a joke - a kind of human lava-lamp. And that's also where 'bouncebackability' has helped. I think it forewarns people that they're not to be taken too seriously."
"To be honest," King continued candidly, "I don't believe anybody is buying these things to actually watch - let's face it, the content is complete rubbish. What I do think, is that people are buying them as gifts. We certainly saw a big increase in sales around Valentines Day."
So the lesson seems to be, if sales of your products are flagging - inject a little bouncebackability. It certainly worked for bouncingparcels.com.