Toothbrush Technology Extends A Brand

Talk about extending your brand, boy band One Direction has teamed up with Arm&Hammer to release two new band-branded toothbrushes. What's especially unique is that the brushes utilize something that A&H calls their "Music In Your Mouth" technology that streams sound vibrations from the bristles of the toothbrush through the teeth, allowing kids to hear music while they brush. What then happens is that the music is conducted through the jaw then transmitted into the inner ear so the brusher can hear the music.

The One Direction toothbrush line will feature two products, each with a different song ("What Makes You Beautiful" and "One Thing"). Each toothbrush will feature 2 minutes of music, which is about the right amount of time to sufficiently clean one's teeth, according to the company. The toothbrush requires a battery to operate and will have a suggested retail price of $9.99.

While this product seems like a bit of a reach, you can't really blame the band's handlers for doing the deal. It's fun new technology that promotes oral hygiene in the band's target audience, and gets the band's brand in front of a very wide audience, since the product will be rolled out nationwide to drug and food retailers. And since the lifespan of a boy band is fairly short, they're trying to cash in while they can. The most interesting thing is that the band already had a toothbrush deal with Colgate, only without the tunes.

Once upon a time (think 40 years ago) a move like this would have been considered crass and commercial, today it's just good business.

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