Sticky Buddy Reusable Lint Roller — A Marketing Review

Can it be?

Back-to-back marketing reviews for reusable lint rollers?

Yes, folks, it’s true.  Your eyes are not deceiving you.  A challenger to the Schticky has officially entered the battlefield.

Literally a day after publishing the article about the Schticky, I saw a late night TV commercial (No sane person would continually stay up late and actually pay attention to TV commercials . . .) starring the English-born pitchman, Anthony Sullivan.  He began his spiel and all of a sudden I had a feeling of deja vu.  Sullivan’s product (as if you don’t already know where this is heading) was for the Sticky Buddy — a washable, reusable lint roller.

A washable, reusable lint roller?  Really?  Again?  Ummm, really?!?

Yeah.  Deal with it.  At least you’re not the one trying to make this article different enough from the previous one to make it an entertaining read.

Let's get ready to lint roll!

Take note that neither the Schticky or Sticky Buddy was the first of this type of lint roller to hit the market.  These washable and still sticky lint rollers have been around for ages.  Somebody up there in The Powers That Be decided to cast the product again in a new light, most likely hoping to stir interest in it with a new generation.

Here and now, in the dawn of 2012, TWO washable, reusable lint rollers are back in the spotlight.  There is room for only one at the top.  We already heard the story of the Schticky.  Now it’s time to see the Sticky Buddy.

In the words of Al Bundy, “Let’s rock.”

Sticky Buddy official website --- www.StickyBuddy.comSticky Buddy official website — www.StickyBuddy.com

Viewing the Sticky Buddy TV commercial involves visiting the company’s website.  I searched high and low and couldn’t find a streaming video, so it’s off to the website we go.  Whoopee!

Sticky Buddy official website - ordering page --- www.StickyBuddy.comSticky Buddy official website – ordering page — www.StickyBuddy.com

Personally, the Sticky Buddy website looks like garbage.  I don’t care for the way that they stacked the “information page” and “ordering page” on top of one another with the giant amount of space separating the two.  Throw in the fact that the information section has way too much text divided into two paragraphs, and as a whole the website just does not look appealing.

Did you catch a major grammar error in the “information page” part of the website?

Sticky Buddy official website - grammar error

Sticky Buddy official website – grammar error

Apparently either A) somebody forgot to proofread his or her work, or B) said person does not know the difference between the two versions of “your” (a problem plaguing way too many people of all ages these days).  Either way it’s unprofessional and will only hurt sales in the end.

We’ve established the fact that the website stinks and needs some improvement.  Let’s move on to the Sticky Buddy TV commercial.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- Anthony Sullivan and Mr. Cat present the Sticky Buddy.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — Anthony Sullivan and Mr. Cat present the Sticky Buddy.

Sitting in his chair like James Bond supervillain Ernst Blofeld (a.k.a. Number 1, leader of SPECTRE) and complete with a white cat, Anthony Sullivan is here to tell us about the Sticky Buddy, a washable, reusable lint roller.

Right off the bat, the name Sticky Buddy is a little on the lame side.  Actually, it’s a lot on the lame side.  It just plain stinks.  At least its main competitor had a catchy single word for its product name.  Sticky Buddy reminds me of a housecat that I know with the nickname (one of many nicknames actually) of Bathroom Buddy.  And how did said cat get the nickname of Bathroom Buddy?  Let’s just say that if you went into the sacred room to “take care of business” (a.k.a. taking a porcelain cruise) and accidentally left open the door, said cat would gladly join you during your moments of stress and relief and jump onto your lap, keeping you company for the duration of your stay.

Getting back on topic, the “sticky” part of the product’s name is fine.  These people just need to find some way to make the word fancy or find some substitution for “buddy,” especially for a product as manly as this one.

Let’s hope the TV commercial will have enough decent demonstrations to distract us from the product’s lame name and poor website.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- Cleaning some chest hair.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — Cleaning some chest hair.

Up first is an obligatory shot of a lint roller in action with Anthony Sullivan cleaning some chest hair.  Specifically, it’s some of the CAT’s hair.  How that much cat hair ended up on his chest is something we probably don’t want to know.  But as we can see and hear with Sullivan’s narration, the Sticky Buddy is in fact sticky and does a rather well job picking up the cat’s hair.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- This is my Sticky Buddy! There are many like it but this one is mine!

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — This is my Sticky Buddy!  There are many like it but this one is mine!

As we saw, the Sticky Buddy easily picked up a variety of light debris, demonstrating the stickiness of its surface — just as you would expect from something resembling a glorified lint roller.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- I will flatten you like a steamroller!

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — I will flatten you like a steamroller!

In case the concept of the product was a little bit difficult to grasp, we’re shown another example of the Sticky Buddy easily picking up a variety of light debris.  Notice how hard Sullivan’s finger is pressing against the Sticky Buddy and the depression caused on the surface.  It almost looks like he wants to use the tool to flatten the crap, showing it who’s the boss.

At a glance this looks okay.  But if you really need to press hard to get the most out of the product, then that may be difficult for some people.  It also implies that the surface may not be as sticky as originally believed.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- Look ma! No sticky residue!

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — Look ma!  No sticky residue!

It may feel tacky on its surface, but as Anthony Sullivan boldly claims in the commercial, the Sticky Buddy does not leave a sticky residue in its wake.  I would imagine that this is probably one of the top concerns with lint roller users.

Okay.

Maybe not.

I’m guessing that most lint roller users would be concerned about the price first and then various features second.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- After massaging your finger, the rubber tips can also hold a place in a book and even work dirt and hair out from carpeting.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — After massaging your finger, the rubber tips can also hold a place in a book and even work dirt and hair out from carpeting.

Like the rubber tips only available on the BIG version only of the main competitor, the regular and small size versions of the Sticky Buddy both feature these rubber fingers.  When Sullivan talks about using the rubber fingers in certain areas of carpeting, I wonder if he’s implying that people are going to use a product like this to clean an entire staircase or perhaps even an entire room of carpeting.  It seems to me that projects of that size are going to take a great deal of work (the intricate cleaning of staircases is no picnic).

I’m not really getting at anything here.  I’m sure that having rubber fingers attached to each Sticky Buddy is a very useful and convenient tool to assist you with cleaning areas like carpeting.  Assuming somebody does clean a carpeted staircase in this method, I wonder how many times that person will be washing and drying the Sticky Buddy before the job is complete.  That could take a while for a normal flight of stairs.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- Don't blink or you'll miss the most important selling feature.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — Don’t blink or you’ll miss the most important selling feature.

Oddly enough, just like the TV advertisement for the main competitor, the fact that you can rinse and reuse the Sticky Buddy is nearly omitted from the commercial.  Hello, people!  Wake up!  This is the BEST selling feature of the product and you’re only giving it a few seconds of air time?!?

Whiskey.  Tango.  Foxtrot.

I honestly don’t get it.

The fact that this lint roller is easily washable is a huge selling feature.  As long as it doesn’t take too long to dry and still stays sticky after washing, then this product hits the jackpot when it comes to reusing it over and over again.  The theory that a product like this makes ordinary lint rollers and their refill kits practically obsolete is huge.  But these people barely mention this major selling feature.  Without washing and reusing, the Sticky Buddy is just another lint roller in a market full of cheap lint rollers.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- Get . . . that . . . thing . . . off . . . me . . . or . . . I'll . . . scratch . . . you!

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — Get . . . that . . . thing . . . off . . . me . . . or . . . I’ll . . . scratch . . . you!

As much fun as it may be for you to roll the Sticky Buddy up and down your cat, it just doesn’t seem like a good idea.  Just because you can do something doesn’t always mean that you should.  The cat in this scene does not look amused right now.  I imagine he’ll be cleaning himself like crazy once she’s finished “cleaning” him.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- Flattening the cat with one pass at a time.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — Flattening the cat with one pass at a time.

And again we see a cat that just doesn’t look thrilled with the Sticky Buddy.  Perhaps now the cat won’t put up a fight when it’s time to brush it again with a “normal” brush.  At least this particular cat is only dealing with the rubber fingers and not the sticky surface.  It still looks pissed.

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- You'll be spending those $5 bills in the vending machine in no time!

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — You’ll be spending those $5 bills in the vending machine in no time!

Anthony Sullivan wants us to ” . . . stop spending money on tape rollers.”  Okay.  So how reusable is this product again?  Why should I spend money on the Sticky Buddy when you barely mentioned how it works?  Almost all of the examples here were similar to using a regular lint roller.  What makes the Sticky Buddy so special that you tell us to stop wasting money with the “other” lint rollers?

Sticky Buddy TV commercial --- The BIG promotion!

Sticky Buddy TV commercial — The BIG promotion!

After being shown the small Sticky Buddy (and being told that the small one alone retails for about $10) we’re hit with the core of the sales pitch — the final offer.  As Sullivan claimed, the offer includes two large Sticky Buddies (each with a cover) and two small Sticky Buddies — all for $10.  Plus shipping & handling.  And again.

Adding up all of the numbers, this promotion comes to a grand total of $23.98 ($10 for the product + $6.99 (shipping & handling for first set) + $6.99 (shipping & handling for “free” set)).  For those keeping track, this final cost is about ten dollars cheaper than the main competitor mentioned in the previous article.

FINAL THOUGHTS

When it comes to lint rollers, most lint rollers can pick up various hair, dirt, dust and other small debris without any major problems.  Purchasing additional refill kits may get old, but that’s going to depend on how frequently you need to use a lint roller.  It’s also been mentioned that washable, reusable lint rollers have already been in the market for some time.

So what makes the Sticky Buddy so special?

Apart from having a lame name and bad website, there isn’t a whole lot that separates the Sticky Buddy from its main competitor.  The large version of the Sticky Buddy comes with a cover (again something rather useful to know), and both the large and small versions of the lint rollers come with attached rubber fingers to assist getting into those carpeted and other tough areas.

When you compare the differences between products and notice the ten dollar difference in final cost, is the Sticky Buddy really that good of a deal?

That all comes down to you, the average consumer.  All I’m going to say is that the TV commercial for the Schticky was much more entertaining than Anthony Sullivan’s commercial for the Sticky Buddy.

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All of the Sticky Buddy commercial images were screenshots of a TV commercial available on the product’s website.  For more product information, please visit the company’s website, www.StickyBuddy.com.

Sticky Buddy is a registered trademark.

RellimZone.com is not affiliated with Sticky Buddy.