Big Product Launches

8/12/2019 Big Product Launches

1/32

That ailed


2/32


3/32

Smith and Wesson Mountain BikesA study commissioned by thecompany found brand awarenessso strong that consumers said theywould consider S&W not only forhandguns, but for other productsas well. As long as that somethingisn't mountain bikes. S&W hadbeen selling bicycles designed forlaw enforcement, security andemergency response since 1997. Soin 2002, it took another step byoffering mountain bikes toconsumers too.

Unfortunately, while the bikescontinue to be loved by publicservice officials, the public nevercaught the "fever."


4/32

Microsoft -WebTVWebTV (now MSN TV) offeredconsumers Internet connection viatheir television sets in the mid-1990s. A Cable World article byAndrea Figler describes it this way:The service grew quickly at first,attracting mainstream users thattypically shied away fromtechnology. But to WebTV'sdismay, they became the dreadedconsumer: a customer who failedto produce new revenue streamsbut insisted on creating expensivecustomer service problems. SoMicrosoft which bought WebTV in1997, scrapped the brand. It neverpassed the one-million-subscribermark.


5/32

chocolate maker Clarence Crane -Life Savers SodaAccording to Wrigley.com,chocolate maker Clarence Craneinvented Life Savers in 1912 as hesearched to find a sweet treat towithstand the summer heat betterthan his chocolate. Because of theirresemblance to life preservers thebrand name Life Savers waschosen. Since then, Life Savershave become the No. 1 brandacross non-chocolate candy andmints. That success, however, didnot translate to its fizzy drinkventure. Life Savers Soda failedeven though it had fared well intaste tests. According to one brandcritic "the Life Savers name gaveconsumers the impression theywould be drinking liquid candy."


6/32

Clairol's -Touch of YogurtShampooThe Brand Failures blog says: Theshampoo failed to attractconsumers (in 1979) largelybecause nobody liked the idea ofwashing their hair with yogurt. Ofthose who did buy it, there wereeven some cases of peoplemistakenly eating it, and gettingvery ill as a result. The "Touch ofYogurt" concept is made evenmore remarkable because threeyears earlier Clairol introduced asimilar shampoo called the "Lookof Buttermilk." This productinstantly bombed in test marketswhere consumers were left asking:what exactly is the "look ofbuttermilk" and why should I wantit?


7/32

Coors - Rocky Mountain Spring WaterIf you're one of the most popularbeer brands in the world, it's apretty safe bet that even your mostloyal consumers would not beinterested in buying bottled waterfrom you. Case in point -- CoorsRocky Mountain Spring Water.Spring water from the RockyMountains is indeed used duringthe brewing process of some Coorsproducts. However, when bottledalone, it's missing one keyingredient -- alcohol. ApparentlyCoors customers just weren't thatinto buying water when it wasn'tenhanced by additional ingredientslike barley and yeast.


8/32

Cocaine Energy DrinkCocaine is a high-energy drink,containing three and a half timesthe amount of caffeine as Red Bull.It was pulled from U.S. shelves in2007, after the FDA declared thatits producers, Redux Beverages,were "illegally marketing theirdrink as an alternative to streetdrugs." The drink is still available,however, online, in Europe andeven in select stores in the U.S.Despite the controversy, ReduxBeverages does not plan to cease

production any time soon. Youknow what they say -- there's nosuch thing as bad publicity.


9/32

Barbie -Earring Magic KenBarbie and her companions havegone through many incarnationssince her creation in 1959, but noneis more infamous than "EarringMagic Ken." Exit classy tuxedosand suits and enter mesh t-shirt,purple leather vest, and earring.Pretty soon "New Ken" wasdubbed "Gay Ken" -- and parentswere not pleased with his fashion-forward style. After an articlefocusing on Earring Magic Ken'sstyle appeared in 'The Stranger'

newspaper, Mattel discontinuedproduction and recalled as manyKens off the shelves as they could.


10/32

No. 17: Colgate KitchenEntreesThe Brand Failures blogexplains: In what must be one ofthe most bizarre brandextensions ever Colgate decidedto use its name on a range offood products called Colgate'sKitchen Entrees. Needless tosay, the products did not takeoff and never left U.S. soil. Theidea must have been thatconsumers would eat theirColgate meal, then brush theirteeth with Colgate toothpaste.The trouble was that for mostpeople the name Colgate doesnot exactly get their taste budstingling.


11/32

Apple NewtonArguably ahead of its time,Apple debuted this PDA devicein 1993. Computerworld says itflopped partially because of itshigh price ($700 or more),bulkiness and the ridicule itreceived from talk showcomedians and comic strips like'Doonesbury' which focused onthe supposed inaccuracy of thehandwriting recognition.

The Newton faded away in1998, but chartered the coursefor the Palm Pilot in the late 90'sand the popular BlackBerry &iPhone today.


12/32

DeLorean CarAuto pioneer John DeLorean quitGeneral Motors in 1973 to start hisown company. His company's carwas an unusual car featuring anunpainted, stainless-steel exteriorand gull-wing doors. The cardebuted in 1981, but when thecompany failed less than two yearslater it had produced less than9,000 vehicles.Despite horrific sales, the cargained a cult following after therelease of the 1985 movie 'Back tothe Future' which featured the caras a time-travel machine. Last yearit was announced that the carwould be returning with verylimited production.


13/32

Kellogg's Breakfast MatesThe idea behind Kellogg'sBreakfast Mates was fairly simple -- pack a box of cereal with milkand a spoon, and you have a tastymeal on the go! Hey, it worked forLunchables, right? Unfortunately,Kellogg's failed to take two thingsinto account. First of all, thoughthe milk included in the CerealMate did not require refrigeration,no one likes the idea of warm milk.And second, the ads showedparents sleeping while childrenhelped themselves to Cereal Mates-- but the packaging was not child-friendly. The confusion associatedwith Breakfast Mates led to itsultimate failure.


14/32

Pepsi A.M. and Crystal PepsiIn the late 1980s, Pepsi came upwith the brilliant plan to cater tothe breakfast cola drinker,under the assumption thatbecause Pepsi containedcaffeine, it must be a naturalsubstitute for coffee. Well, youknow what they say about

assumptions -- but needless tosay, Pepsi AM was notsuccessful, and neither wasPepsi's later foray into clearcola, Crystal Pepsi. Apparently,when it comes to cola, theconsumers know what theywant -- they want it brown, andthey want to drink it all daylong.


15/32

12: Frito Lay LemonadeFrito Lay Lemonade mightseem like a good idea: Eatingsalty corn chips makes youthirsty, and lemonade cancure that thirst.Unfortunately, when peoplethink Fritos, "thirst-quenching" is not an adjectivethat comes to mind.Therefore, Frito Lay's"logical" brand extensionturned out to not be so logicalafter all.


16/32

11: Bottled Water for PetsPeople tend to pamper theirpets, so it's not far-fetched tobelieve consumers mightserve bottled water to theircats and dogs. At least that'swhat the makers of Thirsty

Cat! and Thirsty Dog! musthave believed. But despitethe fact that the water camein such delicious flavors asCrispy Beef and Tangy Fish,it never seemed to catch on.Go figure.


17/32

10: Bic UnderwearBic has built its brand on theconvenience of disposableproducts. Disposable razors?Disposable lighters? Convenientand affordable. Disposableunderwear? Just plain weird.Other than the disposabilityfactor, consumers could not find

a link between the underwearand Bic's other products. Without a unifying factor, peoplewere just confused. In addition,the idea of buying intimateattire from a company that alsoproduces pens apparently doesnot appeal to most women.


18/32

Corfam Fake LeatherIn the 1960s, DuPont began topromote Corfam, a syntheticleather substitute. The companydecided Corfam was best-suitedto being used in women's shoes,but they forgot to take one thinginto account -- comfort.Unfortunately, Corfam did not

have the flexibility of leather,and while it may have been acheaper alternative, it wascertainly not a morecomfortable alternative. Inaddition, as a response toCorfam, leather manufacturersbegan to lower prices andincrease quality. Thus, Corfamlost its appeal.


19/32

Harley Davidson PerfumeHarley-Davidson fans areknown as very loyal customers.

However, even the belovedmotorcycle brand can go too far.T-shirts and cigarette lighterswere one thing, but when thecompany started to make

aftershave and perfume, fanswere not impressed. As thesaying goes, less is more, andHarley-Davidson had spreaditself too thin. Or maybe people just weren't too keen on the ideaof smelling like a motorcycle.


20/32

Ben-Gay AspirinBen-Gay cream is great fortopically relieving aches andpains. But the idea ofswallowing Ben-Gay? Not soappealing. That was theproblem the company faced

when they tried to launch anaspirin. Their first brandextension, Ultra-StrengthBen-Gay, was essentially thesame product as the originaland was very successful. Theaspirin? Not so much.


21/32

Maxwell HouseReady-to-Drink CoffeeThe way Maxwell House describedits ready-to-drink coffee soundedappealing enough -- it was "aconvenient new way to enjoy therich taste of Maxwell HouseCoffee." Just one problem -- thecoffee could not be microwaved inits original container, virtuallycanceling out any "convenience" itmay have offered. If you can pourthe "ready-to-drink" coffee into amug and microwave it, you can

certainly pour yourself a mug ofcoffee from a coffeemaker. Andthat's just what consumerscontinued to do.


22/32

RJ Reynolds'Smokeless CigarettesIn 1988, when even second-hand smoke was deemed aserious health risk, the companybehind brands like Cameldecided to launch Premier, aline of smokeless cigarettes.Reporter Magazine said that

smoking the Premier "produceda smell and a flavor that leftusers retching." The taste,combined with the rumor thatthe cigarette could be used as adelivery device for crackcocaine, pretty muchguaranteed the product'sfailure.


23/32

McDonald's Arch DeluxeIn an effort to class up theMcDonald's brand, the

company created the ArchDeluxe, a product marketedtowards adults with moresophisticated palates. Just oneproblem -- people don't go to

McDonald's for sophistication.McDonald's customers knowwhat they want, and what theywant is a classic and convenientburger. Needless to say, whenthe Arch Deluxe debuted in1996, consumers weren't lovin'it.


24/32

Sony BetamaxThe Betamax video recorder hitstores in 1975. A year later,

Sony's rival released anothervideo recorder -- the VHS. Byearly 1977, four othercompanies were selling VHSmachines. Meanwhile, Sony

chose not to license Betamaxtechnology. Because the twoformats were incompatible,consumers had to choosebetween the two. As Sony wasthe lone Betamax producer, youcan guess which system theychose.


25/32

Ford EdselThe fact that the Edsel is knownas 'The Titanic of Automobiles'speaks volumes about the car'sperformance. It was launchedwith much hype in 1957, andshowrooms were packed withcurious consumers -- at first.Unfortunately the car did not

live up to the high expectations,and only 64,000 were sold in thefirst year. Perhaps it was thefact that the design of the frontgrill was compared to 'anoldsmobile sucking a lemon,'and 'a toilet seat' that turned offconsumers.


26/32

New CokeIn the 1970s and early 80s, Cokebegan to face stiff competitionfrom other soft drink producers.To remain in the number onespot, Coke executives decidedto cease production on the

classic cola in favor of NewCoke. The public was outraged,and Coca-Cola was forced to re-launch its original formulaalmost immediately. Lessonlearned -- don't mess withsuccess.


27/32

Honorable Mentions:Failed TV ShowsBeing a talk show host can be avery lucrative career. Oprahand Ellen Degeneres are primeexamples. But just because youwere once a celebrity doesn'tmean you can carry your ownshow. Take Chevy Chase's talk

show, for instance. It wascanceled within weeks of itspremiere. That's pretty sad. Itcould have been worse though.Other notable failures includeBette Midler's comedy 'Bette',and the late-night talk shows'The Alan Thicke Show' and'The Pat Sajak Show'


28/32

Honorable Mention:The Millenium DomeThe concept behind the

Millennium Dome wasn't bad.The beginning of anothermillennium is a pretty big deal,so why not celebrate it in a veryexpensive new building at the

exact location where themillennium began? Only oneproblem -- no one wasinterested in going. The lack ofvisitors led to recurring

financial problems, and thebuilding was eventually closedto visitors and reopened undera new name, the O2.


29/32

Honorable Mentions:Failed Football LeaguesFootball is America's favoritepast time and the NFL is themost successful sports league inAmerica. So you would thinkthat there was room for anotherleague to capture some success.But failed attempts by the USFL

and XFL show nothing is a surething.

The USFL played for just threeseasons in the mid-1980s andthe XFL played one disasterousseason in 2001.Next: The 1976 Olympics
http://www.walletpop.com/specials/top-25-biggest-product-flops-of-all-time/?photo=2http://www.walletpop.com/specials/top-25-biggest-product-flops-of-all-time/?photo=2


30/32

Honorable Mention:The 1976 OlympicsThe games of the XXI Olympiadmay be known for intoducing us tolegends Nadia Comaneci, SugarRay Leonard and Bruce Jenner, butthey also are arguably known asone of the biggest financialsporting disasters in history.

The city of Montreal faced 30 yearsof debts that didn't finish gettingpaid off until 2006. The OlympicStadium, a lasting monument to

the huge deficit, never had aneffective retractable roof, and thetower was completed only after theOlympics ended.


31/32


32/32

That ailed

Documents

Big Product Launches