Wednesday, March 30, 2011

http://www.babybullet.com/

I may be the only person who is creeped out by this product, but I kind of doubt it. I actually think it's a great idea, but the execution is dreadful. The name Baby Bullet juxtaposes two incongruent words in a distasteful manner. it's derived from the sister product, the Magic Bullet but lacks the cleverness. I think making babyfood is great, and I've done it myself, but this product is so oddly presented!

A related issue is the use of cutesy smiley faces on an implement that utilizes SHARP BLADES. These same cups that are used to purée the food can also be used to feed the child, creating a positive association with the cup for the child, thereby increasing the odds of the child reaching for it when it does have blades attached. A new addition to the product line is a little steamer that cooks the fruits and veggies and can sterilize infant items, which is a nice idea too, but it also has the insipid smiley faces in conjunction with VERY HOT STEAM. It seems so inappropriate to make such dangerous items attractive to small and inquisitive people! I get the CPSC recall emails all the time, and I think this could end up in my inbox, but it probably won't since it will likely perform as it advertises.

A-man has found their marketing very effective and is convinced that we need this product with hot steam, sharp blades, and smiley faces. He also likes to remind me that "our baby can READ!" thanks to the heavy marketing of the infant reading program aimed at insecure lower middle class parents on the Sprout channel. I'm sure she could, but I'm not convinced that such early reading has any real benefits, so I'll pass. She speaks full sentences just after her 2nd birthday, so I don't worry for her language development. Although early reading would allow her to look past the cutesy faces and read the warnings in the instruction manual for the Baby Bullet!

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