Famous, but funny branding mistakes
Remember Coors’ Rocky Mountain Spring Water? How about Colgate’s kitchen entrees? Bic underwear? No? Don’t worry, you’re one of millions of consumers for whom these product names don’t ring a bell.
Brand flops like Cosmopolitan magazine’s yogurt, Gerber’s baby food meant for adults and the infamous “New Coke” are proof that even with multimillion-dollar marketing budgets and an army of pros, companies are not immune from coming up with not- so-clever ideas.
The New Coke may forever remain the poster child of bad branding — and a classic illustration of the cliche “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” Coke came up with a new formula in the 1980s, marketed as “the new taste of Coca-Cola.” But even Bill Cosby, who used a crystal ball in a commercial to predict you’ll be tasting the “best Coca-Cola ever” couldn’t convince the public. The company reintroduced its original formula a few years later and rebranded it as the “Coca Cola Classic.” And apparently, the soft- drink giant hasn’t learned anything from its mistake — at about the same time, it hired the same marketing genius who created “New Coke” for a new project, to capture the youth market. The result was a mediocre-tasting soda called “OK” that featured weird graphic design. The response from the Generation X crowd? Not OK.
Coors tried to capitalize on its brand loyalty and the hot market for bottled water by adding Coors Rocky Mountain Spring Water to its beverage list. The beer maker bottled the spring water from the Rocky Mountain source it used in some of its beers. But taking a sip of their favorite beer brand without getting the corresponding buzz must have confused consumers — the company soon bottled up the idea for good.
Even successful companies forget that sometimes the best strategy is to stick to what they do best. Cosmopolitan, Bic and Colgate are some examples.
Cosmopolitan magazine, which has been translated into nearly 40 languages and is sold all over the world, is without a doubt one of the most successful publishing brands. But when the mega-publication decided to venture outside its expertise, it proved that success is not always about the name. Cosmopolitan Yogurt, no doubt, received some oohs and aahs when it was discussed in some marketing company’s boardroom, but it failed to catch the fancy of the magazine’s devoted readership. The product was put on ice a reported 18 months after launch.
It doesn’t take a marketing degree to see through the idea of Colgate Kitchen Entrees, yet someone at the company decided it was something to smile about. The thought of this strange brand expansion left a toothpasty-feel in consumers’ mouths and the product quickly went away. Next time, perhaps just a new flavor of dental floss will do.
Bic’s venture in a new market was even more bizarre. The maker of disposable razors, lighters, and pens saw an unfilled need for disposable underwear, only consumers didn’t agree. Bic may be all the rage in the world of pens (the company has sold billions of disposable ballpoints) but the push for disposable knickers ended up in the same place all its products eventually do (albeit legitimately, in their case) — in the trash.
Some ideas may simply fail because they’re ahead of their times. Years before the iPhone swallowed the market, Apple’s MessagePad (a PDA operating on a system called Newton) tried to woo consumers with similar necessities, like personal information management. But the device (launched in the ’90s and nicknamed Newton) was not only expensive, it was harshly criticized by the entertainment media including cartoonists and it disappeared some three years later. Apple, of course, has gone on to produce new must-have gadgets that are topping the charts. Who’s laughing now?
Microsoft, too, has a few ideas it would rather forget. One was simply called “BOB.” Bob was a graphical user interface that was supposed to help computer users — only it was, according to reports, more stupid than the people it tried to help. Bob’s smiley- face logo soon disappeared though Microsoft apparently tried to hang on to the idea. Talking paperclip helper, anyone?