SeatPets (Stuffed Animal Pillow For Seatbelts) – A Marketing Review
The afternoon sun is bearing down as Junior finally disembarks from the school bus.
Waiting with the other parents at the bus stop, you give him a wave once he’s finally off the bus. The kid lugs his backpack ten steps towards you before you break off your conversation with the woman who lives down the street, and you carry Junior’s backpack for him the rest of the way to the car. The two of you buckle up for the harrowing (more or less) ride from the bus stop to the house itself, roughly five hundred feet away.
Just like taking Junior to and from the school bus stop, the kid complaining about the car ride has also become of your daily routine during the school year. One moment he’s uncomfortable with the seatbelt and the next he’s tired and wants to nap and then he’s bored and wants a toy. It’s a never-ending cycle with the kid.
And this is just a quick trip up and down the neighborhood’s streets. Car trips to further destinations such as the grocery store or soccer field are even worse. You’ve tried cranking the volume on the radio and drowning the kid’s complaining, but he learned to yell right through your music.
Oh, if only there was a way to keep Junior quiet for these car rides, whether it’s for a ride down the street or across town.
SeatPets website — www.PlaySeatPets.com
What’s this? A SeatPet? Is that like a fancy seatbelt or something?
SeatPets TV commercial
Actually, SeatPets are more like seatbelt accessories for kids. It looks like a stuffed animal that also functions as a pillow and supposedly keeps the kiddies amused and entertained during car rides. Let’s take a closer look at the commercial and see how the SeatPet is being advertised to us, the general public.
SeatPets TV commercial – Just how can they see around the massive animal heads on the SeatPets?
After getting past the catchy little jingle at the start of the commercial, we see a couple of scenes showing kids using the SeatPets on their seatbelts. Right off the bat we notice that the SeatPets have HUGE animal heads. I’m guessing that the animals’ heads were made large to function as a pillow, but as we can see, it also blocks the kids’ view on that side of their head.
Just how long will little Junior or Sally tolerate having a giant animal head blocking the view of the side window, especially when you’re driving past interesting sights? Prepare yourself for major whining and complaining from the back seat!
SeatPets TV commercial – With you, the SeatPet and the DRIVER, you’ll supposedly never be riding alone.
We all know the dangers of riding alone in cars . . .
Keep Hitler away from your kids! Additional passengers and stuffed animals should help do the trick. Thank goodness for SeatPets! Maybe I should have one of those when I go driving alone in my car. The last thing I need is for Adolf’s ghost to be riding with me!
SeatPets TV commercial – Do you really want your teammates to see you riding and cuddling with a SeatPet?
After solving the riding alone problem and stopping Adolf Hitler’s ghost from being with your kids, one may wonder if there’s an age limit / masculinity level for a car accessory such as a SeatPet.
In this example in the TV commercial, does this boy really want his teammates to see him proudly riding with his SeatPet?
This kid looks to be about nine or ten years old, a ripe age for others to start making fun of him for his looks, personality, or anything else that makes him stand out in a crowd. Trust me, something like the SeatPet will definitely make him stand out, and not in a good way, either. I know that the kid will always be a little baby in the eyes of his mother, but when it comes to this pesky little thing known as reality, a kid that old caught using a SeatPet will only lead to him being ridiculed and receiving an ass kicking from his friends.
SeatPets TV commercial – It’s easier to install before the kid sits in the seat.
As we can see, supposedly it’s a quick process to attach the SeatPets to the seatbelt in your car. The stuffed animal pillow looks like it was designed to better fit the over-the-shoulder belts rather than a simple lap belt. Many cars only have a lap belt for those who sit in the middle of the back row.
Yes, the fast and simple installation is a good selling point for the SeatPets. I bet you can even do it while talking on the phone.
SeatPets TV commercial – Somehow you can play with a stuffed animal that stays attached to your seatbelt.
Awww, isn’t that so cute?
Not only can the girl play with a stuffed animal that’s attached to her seatbelt, but she can also use it to help relax or even take a nap. And to think, if I wanted to relax or nap during my car rides, I had to cuddle with one of my shoes. That is, if I finished constructing my shoes first out of fishing wire, tar, and the bark from trees.
Just kidding. Though I did walk to and from high school every day for all four years, but that was my choice. The route involved walking along and crossing a busy road and then making a short hike through a forest before walking the rest of the way past the athletic fields to the main building. Round trip was over a mile and it wasn’t exactly fun in the rain or bitter cold, especially when the ground was muddy.
When we wanted to nap during roads trips we would take these things known as “pillows.” We had the option of using the one from our beds or using a smaller pillow designed for traveling. And it worked, too!
SeatPets TV commercial – Bentley the Dog wants you to always use your seatbelt.
As if we actually had to be told this, but attaching something like the SeatPets to a kid’s seatbelt will still allow him or her to use the seatbelt. Yeah, the marketers actually put that safety reminder in the commercial as if we couldn’t figure it out ourselves.
The better question is, If a vehicle has air bags in the rear door panels, will something like SeatPets be better or worse when it comes to the safety of the child riding in that seat? The animal’s head may be a big cushion, but it’ll push back the kid’s head if the rear door air bag is ever deployed. It would be interesting to see safety tests involving rear air bags and car accessories, especially those accessories designed for kids.
SeatPets TV commercial – Let the journey begin . . . while the kids sleep and miss the fun of getting there!
Here we have two kids showing classic signs of bent neck syndrome, a problem that occurs when, A) the kids don’t get enough sleep at night, B) the kids don’t know how to handle car rides, or C) mom’s incredibly lame choice in music puts them right to sleep.
Solutions to fixing this problem include options such as rolling down the rear windows to help keep them awake, bringing along a pillow, letting them chug a Red Bull, or I suppose attaching SeatPets to their seatbelts. I think you know what solution the advertisers want you to choose.
So much for the whole “Getting there is half the fun!” philosophy if the kids are just going to sleep every time they go for a car ride.
SeatPets TV commercial – The curse of the uncomfortable seatbelt!
Seatbelts are designed to save lives, not be fashionable or necessarily comfortable.
Not are kids prone to slipping off the over-the-shoulder seatbelt restraint, but many adults are guilty of that behavior as well. What’s scary are the women who remove that part of their seatbelt because it winkles or doesn’t fit with their wardrobe. Now those people are just plain stupid!
Supposedly the SeatPets will make wearing a seatbelt a more comfortable experience. Does that mean that said picky child will insist on using a SeatPet for every single car ride so that he or she doesn’t have to deal with an uncomfortable seatbelt?
To go along with this, the product’s website claims that, “With SeatPets your seatbelt always stays in place!” I can think of another way to keep your seatbelt in the right place. It’s called wear the seatbelt properly and don’t tuck it under your arm. There! Problem solved.
SeatPets TV commercial – Car rides will be easier . . . because it’ll stop the kids from complaining?
How exactly will the SeatPets make car rides easier?
Are the car rides easier because the kids can essentially bring along a stuffed animal that also functions as a pillow and a small carrying case, supposedly making the trip more fun? I thought that those overhead TV screens playing cartoons were made to make car rides more fun. Comics and books can also make rides more fun. Do those also qualify as making car rides easier as well, all because it keeps said child partially focused on a toy instead of whining and complaining the whole time?
Will the SeatPets stay comfortable when the air is really dry during the winter and the fabric keeps rubbing against the kid’s equally dry skin, making it (and them) even more irritable? How about during the heat of the summer when your car’s air conditioner (such as mine) is malfunctioning and you and the kids are sweating, and they are sweating into their SeatPets, getting it wet and nasty? Will that inspire them to continue using the SeatPet and keeping that giant stuffed animal head right next to their head during car rides?
SeatPets TV commercial – Take it with you . . . as long as you’re not a boy past Kindergarten age.
Thanks to a special attachment, SeatPets can be carried just like a backpack. Just be warned that there’s no hiding a stuffed animal of that side. If you’re a boy and you’re beyond Kindergarten age and caught carrying one of those, then you’d better have a really good excuse to get out of the ridicule that will happen.
SeatPets TV commercial – They’re even compatible with airliners!
That’s right, folks. Apparently the SeatPets are compatible with today’s airliners. Not only will it help keep your child amused during the flight, but it also functions as a travel pillow. Just remember not to have any drugs or weapons hidden in the SeatPets’ pouches, or TSA will give you a hard time and probably make your kid start crying.
SeatPets TV commercial – It’ll make your kids sit there and shut up.
In one of the most ridiculous statements in the SeatPets’ TV commercial, supposedly this stuffed animal will provide your kids with so much joy and amusement that THEY WILL NOT WHINE ABOUT THE CAR RIDE!
Yes, this commercial actually claims that the SeatPets will end that annoying “Are we there yet?” question.
There’s no way that the advertisement can prove that claim. This isn’t a video game or even a book. This is a stuffed animal for crying out loud, and it’s a limited one too as it’s designed to stay attached to your seatbelt. How in the hell is a limited stuffed animal going to function the same as a strip of duct tape across your kids’ mouths?
How, almighty marketers? HOW?!?
The answer is that this claim is 100% garbage. Yes, the SeatPets may help keep your kids amused and entertained for part of the car ride, but at some point their boredom and irritability will prevail and THEY WILL PESTER YOU WITH ANNOYING QUESTIONS! That’s exactly how it’ll work, especially if they keep bringing along the SeatPets and the SeatPets lose their newness on the kids.
SeatPets TV commercial – It can all be yours for just some money.
The end of the TV commercial hits us with the sales pitch.
There really isn’t much a promotion for this advertisement. The “bonus” includes the backpack strap so you can carry your SeatPet over your shoulder. Yeah, that’s really exciting.
The GRAND TOTAL for a single SeatPet is $28.98 ($19.99 + $8.99 P&H). Additional SeatPets cost $17.99 each, giving you a small discount when ordering more than one. There’s no word how much extra shipping and handling you’ll be paying for multiple SeatPets.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The SeatPets look like a cross between a stuffed animal and a pillow, and they’re designed to be attached to your seatbelt. That’s about it.
The TV commercial goes a bit overboard when showing off all the features and happy children using the product, especially with older boys using the stuffed animals. As it was previously stated, if a boy that age is caught using a product like that, the ridicule and harassment from their friends will be relentless. Mommy’s little boy may secretly enjoy a stuffed animal that doubles as a pillow, but it’s not going to make it out of the house.
Some of the scenes showing really happy kids with the SeatPets are a bit far-fetched, and the claim that the product will end the dreaded “Are we there yet?” boredom question is an outright lie. That is a superlative, a big no-no by the FCC. There’s no way that the advertisers can prove such a statement to be true and use it as a “feature” of the product.
When kids are sleepy in cars, their parents normally keep travel pillows handy. Travel pillows are normally small and some of them wrap around a person’s neck, giving them extra comfort and support. If a kid needs entertainment then a parent will normally provide video games, an entertainment center built into the car, toys of all shapes and sizes, or comics or other books.
But combing a stuffed animal into a pillow and latching it to a child’s over-the-shoulder restraint? At that point the toy is so restrictive that it’s no longer a toy. It’s merely a funny shaped pillow that stays against the child’s head, no doubt something that’ll irritate and annoy the child in the long run.
I’m sure you’ll be seeing plenty of SeatPets sitting with the other mediocre as-seen-on-TV products soon at Wally World, if it’s not there yet.
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All of the SeatPets TV commercial images were screenshots of a TV commercial currently available on YouTube and the product’s website. For more product information, please visit the company’s website at www.PlaySeatPets.com.
SeatPets is a registered trademark.
RellimZone.com is not affiliated with SeatPets.