UP TO 1000 POUNDS!

Furniture Fix is one of those classic ‚“Why didn’t I think of that?” DR items that solves a common problem. Designed to shore up sagging couches, upholstered chairs, and mattresses after the springs wear out, Furniture Fix’s rigid panels snap together and slide under cushions to lend added support. The product does what it claims, but how could Woodland Hills, Calif.-based marketer Hampton Direct communicate that fact when Furniture Fix works undercover?

Sonia Makurdsik, executive vice president of Hampton Direct, posed the question to her agency, Boonton, N.J.-based Concepts TV Productions, and with creative director Collette Liantonio, brainstormed a demonstration that proves the effectiveness and durability of Furniture Fix. After showing that Furniture Fix panels can support two cinder blocks, the real magic moment arrives: Two sumo wrestlers weighing a total of 1,000 pounds plop down side by side on a couch supported by the panels. The couch holds, they high-five, and the ad continues on to discuss offer extras.

Cast following an online search, the sumo wrestlers were ready for anything. ‚“They are used to the camera,” Liantonio says. ‚“They know their line of work is specific and interesting to others. The only thing we didn’t think about in advance was who was going to help put their sumo diapers [or mawashi] on. Yikes!” Furniture Fix was a successful 2010 launch for Hampton, and ‚“everyone knows it by the commercial with the sumo wrestlers,’” Liantonio says. ‚“Memories last.”