The Pocket Chair – A Marketing Review

Don’t you just hate standing in line, standing there, wishing that you had some sort of chair to rest that aching body of yours instead of, you know, standing?

How about being able to sit while tailgating, or even when watching your kids play a sporting event?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes thinking about those problems keep me awake at night.  I mean, how advanced of a society are we that we don’t have instant chairs everywhere, providing rest and relaxation for anybody, anywhere?  Aren’t we supposed to be in the future by now?  Come on!

Worry no more!

The Pocket Chair website — www.PocketChair.com

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The Pocket Chair website – version 2 — www.PocketChair.com

Supposedly the Pocket Chair can solve that “always needing an instant seat” problem.  Take a look at the TV commercial and see what I’m talking about.

The Pocket Chair — TV commercial

Okay, so we have a product here that tries to prove that it’s the best solution for nearly every reason to have a portable, folding chair.  But sadly, that’s just not as true as the commercial would like for you to believe.  Let’s take a closer look at the Pocket Chair’s TV commercial and see if it’s really the best chair for the different scenarios.

Pocket Chair TV commercial – A rocket scientist trying to carry as many chairs as possible.

The commercial starts with one person looking for relief from aching lower legs and feet, and another person trying to lug have a dozen folding chairs across a yard.

Geez, didn’t that woman with the aching lower legs (caused by too much standing, of course) know that she could just sit down and get some rest?  Doh!  And I’m sure that Captain Clueless carrying all of those chairs probably wasn’t aware that he could easily just make two trips, even just one with the help of a friend or family member, instead of trying to lug all of those chairs in just one trip.

So for those two cases, the answer is . . . . the Pocket Chair?

Really?  Wouldn’t it just be easier to hit both people on the head with Thor’s hammer?

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Starring Adam Jay as the trusty salesman.

No, according to Adam Jay, the over-excited and slightly annoying host of the TV commercial, this is a perfect little chair that can be used in a wide variety of situations, no matter how stupid you may look while sitting on it.  He’s paid to tell us so.

Look stupid?  Really?

I’m afraid so.  Part of selling a product comes down to it looking appealing to the consumers.  To me, it looks like some of the people aren’t sitting but rather squatting down and trying to take a dump.  And in some of the scenarios, the tiny little chair just looks inappropriate.

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Is that a chair in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

As we can see, the Pocket Chair can be folded into itself and it’s capable of fitting in most large pockets.  As to whether or not it’s comfortable while walking with it in your pocket is a different story.  That question was not addressed in the commercial, perhaps for a good reason.  We do know that Adam Jay sounded quite excited and nearly blown away when telling us that the Pocket Chair, “. . . folds up and fits right in your pocket!”  Oh wow!

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Make the other beachgoers jealous of your ability to sit on a tiny chair!

Ah, yes.  The beach.  Instead of each person carrying a folding chair on their shoulder, now only one person is needed to carry enough chairs for everybody in the group.  How’s that for convenience?  Just don’t expect to sit back and work on your tan while sitting on the Pocket Chair, otherwise everybody will point and laugh when you fall.

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Use a tiny little chair while cheering at the BIG game!

It’s funny how this scene in the commercial is referred to as “the big game,” yet it looks like the parents of said kid athlete put as little effort into their seats as possible.  I know that soccer games aren’t short (no idea how long they last for elementary school kids), but it seems doubtful that it can’t be comfortable sitting on such a small chair without at least some back support.

Pocket Chair TV commercial — You’ll look extra tough and pumped for the game when tailgating with such a tiny chair.

Okay, this scene is just hilariously bad.

Here we have two guys with a charcoal grill, table with food, a large cooler with a few drinks on top of it, and they’re actually trying to sit on such tiny seats?  Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!  Holy cow!  The guy on the left can’t seem to get comfortable while the guy on the right looks like he’s about to fall off his seat.

What’s even funnier is that later in the commercial one of the guys tells us that it’s great having such a small chair because, “Bigger folding chairs takes up a lot of room.  You don’t need an SUV to tailgate anymore.”

Gee, how large of a vehicle do you need to carry that grill?  How about the table?  That cooler isn’t small either.  It’s going to take up some space on the backseat or in the trunk.  And last time I checked, you can fit many “regular” sized folding chairs in the trunk of an average size car, certainly smaller than the Jeep and Chevy SUV in the background of the commercial.  And yeah, two tough guys like that are going to be caught using such tiny chairs when it’s not needed.  Whatever.

Come on, guys!  If you’re going to try to make a point of the Pocket Chair looking cool and being useful for tailgating, at least try to show a more realistic scenario.  And as a side note, for the many football tailgates that I’ve visited and attended, those people who aren’t walking around socializing and playing drinking games were always sitting comfortably in regular sized folding chairs with backs and armrests.  When people want to sit back and relax, it kinda helps when the chair at least has a back on it, let alone armrests with cup holders.

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Just squat down, bend your back, and work on that garden.

In this example we need to ask ourselves if it’s really necessary to be sitting while working in the garden.  Notice how this woman isn’t pruning or trimming or harvesting.  She’s planting new flowers.  Digging holes in the ground, placing the plant into said holes, and filling the remaining space with fresh soil.  All of that requires bending forward and working at and below ground level.

Wouldn’t it be much easier to kneel on a towel while working with small plants?  My back hurts just looking at that sitting position, let alone sitting and working like that for more than a couple of minutes.  The same is true for a later example in the commercial when Adam Jay is cleaning the tires of a car.  Just because you can sit while working does not mean that it’s the best method for your body.

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Adam Jay weighs around 250 pounds.

That’s right, folks!  The Pocket Chair does not bust from the weight of Adam Jay.

I do wonder about one thing though:  In general, would people heavier or lighter than Adam Jay benefit more from having a folding, portable chair?

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Being lazy is awesome!

In a clip of old news dating back to the 1970s, apparently traveling, folding chairs can be used while waiting in line.  While this may be useful when waiting outside of Best Buy on Thanksgiving night, in many cases there’s just no point in carrying a chair unless you have a medical problem that requires you to sit and keep weight off your feet.

As to line queues like the one behind Adam Jay, what’s the point in sitting when the line keeps moving forward at a slow pace?  Are you going to keep getting up and scooting your seat a few feet forward every other minute or so?  Yeah, that’s going to feel great on the ol’ knees.

Next!

Pocket Chair TV commercial — I WILL EAT YOU!!!  OM NOM NOM NOM!!!

In this part of the commercial, before the father tries to eat the kids, the mother tells us that she “. . . always have a seat for everyone.  This Pocket Chair is a lifesaver.”

So what does that have to do with this scene in the commercial?  Did they accidentally end up camping on vacation and have an urgent desire to sit beside a tent?  Was the air conditioning in the R/V broken?

I see a group of two adults and three kids, a tent, and in the background is a recreational vehicle.  Why do these people have to have the Pocket Chair when camping?  It’s not because of lack of space because you can fit a ton of things into that R/V.  It’s also not because of the cost of the Pocket Chairs because if you can afford to own or even rent and drive an R/V, then you can most likely easily afford any style of folding chair on the market.  R/Vs ain’t cheap to drive, especially these days.

Unless you’re sitting on a fallen log and pretending to be rustic, wouldn’t it be a lot more comfortable to have a chair WITH A BACK ON IT if you’re going to be using it for a while?  Wouldn’t it also be cool to be sitting around a campfire or at least a pile of sticks on the ground?

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Being frustrated with simple tasks sucks!

Up next we see a woman get frustrated and ultimately throw one of those “other” folding chairs.  You know, the ones you see everywhere from airshows to pools to sporting events to outdoor concert venues.  Yeah, those very common and simple to use folding chairs.

According to this TV commercial, I guess they’re hard to assemble for some people even though at this point the chair looks mostly assembled.  Never mind that point.  Just focus on the angry woman who is having trouble with a simple task that most elementary students can solve.  This is the commercial’s futile attempt at convincing you, the buyer, NOT to bother with those “other” folding chairs with backs and a high level of comfort.

Nothing to see here.  Move along.

Pocket Chair TV commercial — Small chairs are GREAT for small people!

After going through a variety of ways to store the Pocket Chair when it’s folded, the TV commercial came across a valid selling point:  Small chairs are great when being used by small people.

It’s obvious that many of the people did not look comfortable when sitting on the Pocket Chair.  Such a small piece of furniture with no back support just does not look inviting for adults.  But when you put a child on a small chair — bingo!  It works great with them!

The only problem here is that the Pocket Chair is mainly marketed towards adults, not kids.

For a bit of trivia, notice that it’s 10:10 on the wall clock.  This is the standard time used on the face of analog watches (and apparently used with wall clocks) in advertisements.  Wheeeee!

A ‘regular’ folding chair — arch-nemesis of the Pocket Chair.

At the end of the Pocket Chair TV commercial we’re hit with the sales pitch.  Sure enough, if we order the product now they’ll send us two of the chairs, each with its own little carrying bag.  For a grand total of $30.97 ($14.99 + $7.99 P&H + $7.99 P&H for “free” chair) the company claims that you’ll receive TWO of the Pocket Chairs.  The company does offer a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee (less the $15.98 P&H fees, naturally).

Personally, the scenarios did a poor job of selling the Pocket Chair.  Except for being used by kids, not once did I see a legitimate scenario where the Pocket Chair was better than just a regular folding chair, like the one pictured above.  The price difference between the Pocket Chairs and simple versions of “regular” folding chairs is miniscule when you factor in the Pocket Chair’s lack of back, upper body, and arm support, let alone the awkward sitting posture and extra pressure on your knees and legs.

The fact that the company’s website changed while I was working on this article just gives me an uneasy feeling.  The TV commercial has been running for some time now, and I’m sure that they have several different versions of the sale’s page ready to be switched at a moment’s notice.  This tells me that the company tries several different ways to get your attention with a flashy website and not necessarily the product itself.

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All of the Pocket Chair commercial images were screenshots of a TV commercial currently available on Youtube.  For more product information, please visit the company’s website at www.PocketChair.com.

Pocket Chair is a registered trademark.

RellimZone.com is not affiliated with Pocket Chair.