Catch Caddy (Car Accessory Organizer) – A Marketing Review

While stuck in rush hour congestion on the flyover ramp from I-285 to I-85 north in metro Atlanta, you can’t help but cringe at the solid wall of cars in front of you in an endless train of glowing red brake lights.

It’s the middle of August.

The kids are back in school, it’s still hot and muggy outside, and the afternoon rush hour traffic has returned with a vengeance.  During the summer break traffic wasn’t too bad as many of the commuters were off the roads to take those family vacations you hear about.  Now that school has resumed, so has the higher amount of traffic on the roads, making both the morning and afternoon traffic jams that much worse.

Thankfully, your trusty, 1984 edition of the Pontiac Phoenix is still chugging along just fine.  In the back of your mind you know that those other drivers starring at your 30-year-old car are just jealous.  They wish that they had a prized symbol of General Motors’ engineering and assembly from the early 1980s.  Just last week you had to turn away three different collectors who were interested in purchasing your luxury wagon.  Nope.  This freshly waxed, metallic blue car is all yours.

The windows have been rolled down and a quick breeze effectively cools the interior of the car.  However, just as the breeze ends, the stifling heat returns.  To make matters worse, your stomach is growling and sitting next to you in the passenger seat is a to-go bag of food from Checkers.  You were hoping to make it home before eating dinner, but it looks like traffic isn’t going to allow it today.  As the mouth-watering scents from the food infiltrate your nose, you know that it’s a losing battle to keep resisting the urge to eat in your car.

Maybe I’ll eat just a few of the fries, you tell yourself.  It’s just a matter of self-control.

Your stomach growls in anticipation as you delicately reach into the bag of food and grab a handful of their famous hot fries.  The fries aren’t really spicy, but they have a solid crunch and a tasty flavor.  How the term “hot” was attached to them still isn’t clear.  Whatever the reason, they just taste great.

The moment the first couple of fries enters your mouth you go through a mental transformation.  Your eyes glaze over as your mouth is suddenly overwhelmed by the flavor, the warmth, and the crunchiness of the hot fries.  There’s some quick chewing and then swallowing of the food.  And then a single word enters your mind:   MORE.

There’s no resisting as your hand subconsciously reaches into the to-go bag from Checkers and grabs another handful of hot fries.  This time the fries are forcefully shoved into your waiting mouth.  Your jaws snap shut and graze your retreating fingers, accidentally nipping one of them and drawing a few drops of blood.  That doesn’t register in your mind as you reach into the bag for even more of the addictive fries.  There’s no pain from the bite wound.  There’s only an obsession for more of the Checkers hot fries.

While your foot is still standing on the brake pedal, you reach into the bag, remove the container of hot fries, and then unceremoniously dump them into your gaping mouth.  It’s as chewing frenzy as you simply cannot chew and swallow the food fast enough.  Several of the smaller fries bounce off your face as you continue pouring the rest of your hot fries and scarf them down like there’s no tomorrow.

Suddenly the container of fries is empty.

That’s it.  Game over.  No more hot fries until next time.

In a fit of rage you crumble the empty fry container and launch it out your open window.  As the garbage sails off the overpass and onto the traffic below you, your alternate personality slowly eases out of your body, giving your normal self full control once again.  It’s over.  You’re in control again . . . for now.

The interior of the 1984 Pontiac Phoenix tells a different story.  Crumbs cover the front of your shirt, there are drops of blood on the center console and the passenger seat, and a few of the smaller hot fries litter the floor.  Some of them even fell between the seat and the console, into the so-called “black hole.”

If only there was a way to save those last few hot fries, you tell yourself as your eyes begin to water from the wasted food.  Just a few more bites.  That’s all I want while sitting in this miserable traffic.

But wait!

Catch Caddy website — www.CatchCaddy.com

Just the other night you remember seeing a commercial for just such a product.  It was called the Catch Caddy.

an older TV commercial for the Catch Caddy

Could such a product actually work?  Can such an accessory like that help save those occasional French fries from falling into the dreaded “black hole” next to the seat?  Let’s review the advertisement and see if this is something worthwhile, or if it’s more of a scam.  NOTE – We’ll be reviewing the advertisement on the product’s website and NOT the slightly older YouTube video.

The advertisement for Catch Caddy begins with a problem that has affected most drivers at one point or another — losing an item to the “black hole.”  No, not that hole that you discovered in the restroom wall last month.  The BLACK hole, a region in the car between the seat and the center console.  Items that fall down there are normally hard to reach, and sometimes they end up underneath the seat.

The dreaded black hole is especially dangerous for cell phones, especially when you balance them on your thigh while driving.  You know, instead of actually storing your cell phone somewhere secure.  I believe that other as-seen-on-TV products have already addressed this particular problem.

So what can you do to help catch those loose French fries, cell phones, spare change, parking tickets, and hooker trading cards from your last trip to Las Vegas?  Is there any hope at all to keeping your car a little bit cleaner and slightly better organized?

The Catch Caddy is advertised as a pouch that easily slides between the seat and the center console.  Allegedly it stays in place and helps catch whatever crap falls into that zone.  Of course, if an item were to fall to the front or opposite side of the seat, then it’s still going to land on the floor and possibly end up underneath your seat.  If you’re going to accidentally drop an item, be sure to aim towards the side of the seat with the Catch Caddy.

If you’re going to intentionally drop an item, well, there is always the open window . . .

Just kidding.  You really shouldn’t litter.  That’s an easy way to get a cop’s attention.

So what else can the Catch Caddy do?

In addition to catching your garbage and other miscellaneous items that were improperly stored before driving, the Catch Caddy can also be used as a storage device.  Just remember that the gap between the seats and the center console is usually very NARROW.  How much stuff do you think you can store in that narrow space in your vehicle?

Here we have somebody using the Catch Caddy as a way to store crap between the seats.  Of course, if you’re holding items like magazines in the Catch Caddy, then it’s going to be a lot harder to also use the Catch Caddy to help catch the garbage that’s constantly falling to that side of the floor of your car.

And just how hard is it to use the Catch Caddy?  Does it require any trimming or cutting to make it fit?

According to the advertisement, the Catch Caddy comes in one size that fits all sorts of vehicles.  Just slide it between the seat and center console, and there you go.  That’s it.  It as easy as your cousin after she has a few drinks.

As far as that gap between the seat belt buckle, the seat, and the Catch Caddy, just go ahead and ignore it.  Items probably won’t land there.  Just remember that when accidentally spilling or dropping items, be sure to aim for the widest part of the Catch Caddy.

The commercial then continues and shows just how incredibly simple it is to slide out the Catch Caddy and retrieve any fallen items that it caught in that incredibly narrow area on one side of the seat.  Just slide it out, retrieve your items, and then slide it back into place.  It’s so easy even a politician can do it.

What happens if the Catch Caddy gets sticky or messy after miraculously catching your garbage?  What if you suddenly became carsick and puked your guts out all over the car, even inside of the Catch Caddy?  Is it easy to clean?

According to the commercial, yes, it’s incredibly easy to clean.  Just rinse it out with water and there you go.  Nobody will ever suspect all of the hideous messes that routinely occur inside of your car.

As it was already established in the TV commercial, the Catch Caddy can also be used as a storage area in the front of your car.  Of course, there’s only so much room in the space next to the front seat.  As we can see in this example, the woman’s thin purse barely fits halfway into the Catch Caddy, and most of it sticks up in the air.  Let’s hope that the exposed section of her purse doesn’t interfere with the woman’s ability to drive her vehicle.

Up next we see an example of a woman who’s happy with her Catch Caddy as it’s allegedly great for catching all of the garbage that normally falls to the floor of her car.  She specifically mentions fallen French fries as a common garbage item.  How careless do you have to be if this is a normal problem for you?  Are you tossing the fries into the air and trying to catch them with your mouth while you’re driving?  Holy crap, people.  Stop eating in your damn car if you’re frequently making a mess.  This really isn’t a hard concept.

After that is an example of an older woman who allegedly uses the Catch Caddy as another storage place in her car.  Considering that her hands and fingers are most likely not as agile as a younger person, just how easy is it for her to reach into the Catch Caddy and remove items without removing the entire container?

The end of the TV commercial has the big promotion.  Like most as-seen-on-TV products, you can get a “free” second item as long as you pay for the additional processing and handling fee.

The sale here is for a set of two Catch Caddy car organizers for just $10.  The promotion (and you’re forced to purchase it this way on the item’s website) gives you an additional two more of the Catch Caddy car organizers plus what they refer to as “Mystery Gift Offers.”  However, in the fine print at the bottom of the website, the company claims that you’ll actually receive “. . . a mystery gift, absolutely free!”  Whatever.

The TOTAL COST of the Catch Caddy promotion costs $22.90 ($10 + $7.95 P&H + $4.95 (P&H for the “free” set of Catch Caddy car organizers)).  The website says that taxes may apply, but it does not give any courtesy of actually mentioning which state(s) this may apply to.

Like the majority of these as-seen-on-TV websites, the “PROCESS ORDER” button does just that.  It creates a live order for you BEFORE showing you the final cost of the order.  You won’t see the invoice screen until AFTER you place the order.  Gee, does that sound like something an honest and ethical business would do, or is it more like a scam?

FINAL THOUGHTS

In the world of operating a motor vehicle, staying organized is one step closer to being a safer driver.  The more distractions that you can eliminate, then the easier it’ll be to focus on the roads and your fellow motorists.

It’s also true that many vehicles have a lack of storage spaces in the front of the car.  Sure, there’s normally a glove box, a center console, and maybe a storage bin in the door, but normally that’s about it.  Cars generally lack an assortment of pouches for you to store all of your crap.  Perhaps there’s a reason for this.

Anyway, it’s clear that the Catch Caddy was designed to help fill a void and to give drivers a small storage container that’s easy to use.  It can function as both as trash can and a storage pouch.

When you study the advertising, it’s also clear that this particular item was designed to fit only between the front seats and the center console.  If you spill anything to the front or to the opposite side, then whatever you dropped will still end up on the floor and most likely in an awkward place.  The Catch Caddy was designed for a very specific (and very narrow) slot right next to the seat.

The question is this:  How often do YOU spill or lose items in that narrow gap between the seat and center console, the “black hole”?

For me that might happen once or twice a year at most.  I keep my cell phone in a secure location in my car, and I keep other items away from that particular spot.  My car isn’t as clean as I would like, but it’s organized enough so that I’m not constantly losing items to the floor or underneath the seat.  In a car, a little organization and occasional interior cleaning can go a long way.

As far as the Catch Caddy, that’s between you and your cleanliness.  If you’re as messy as some people I know, then a car organizational product like this may be quite useful.  Just remember to be clumsy / sloppy / messy towards that narrow gap between the seat and the center console.

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All of the Catch Caddy commercial images are 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.CatchCaddy.com.

Catch Caddy is a registered trademark.

RellimZone.com is not affiliated with Catch Caddy.