1.

New Coke Often cited as the ultimate example of one of the most notorious product flops - and brand missteps - of all time, New Coke was launched in the mid-1980s by Coca Cola in an attempt to help the soda company stay ahead of competitors durin the so-called !cola wars"! #nstead, it $ust annoyed consumers" !%he tacky way it was introduced made it seem as thou h the re ular Coke drinkers mattered little to the company and a boycott was started,! said &ichard 'aermer, C(O of &') *&, a public relations firm New +ork City, and author of !,011- %rendspottin for the Next .ecade!. New Coke was abandoned within a few weeks and the ori inal /ersion was then resurrected as !Classic Coke"! 2. Crystal Pepsi *epsi introduced this clear cola in the early 1990s" 0nlike other clear carbonated drinks, this one didn1t ha/e a lemon2lime fla/or - yet it didn1t 3uite ha/e a normal cola fla/or either" .espite a /ery expensi/e media blit4, this see-throu h soda $ust didn1t catch on" !*epsi lost hundreds of millions uessin at straws, and they ha/e ne/er reco/ered fully,! said 'aermer" !%his was an error competitors still learn from- don1t amend a color that1s acceptable5!

3. Arch Deluxe McDonald's launched this new bur er ! at a esti"ated cost o# at least $1%& "illion #or the "assi'e ad ca"pai n ! in 1(()* spinnin it as a "ore sophisticated option #or consu"ers and hopin to appeal to adults. +urns out* sophisticated adult #are is not necessarily a sure#ire hit with the #ast #ood crowd. An AdAge story in 1((, announcin the i"pendin de"ise o# the -ill!#ated Arch Deluxe- see"ed to i"ply the bur er should ha'e been yanked #ro" the "enu "uch sooner. A New York Times story in late 1((. cited the Arch Deluxe as a "a/or #actor leadin to McDonald's slu ish #inancial rowth the pre'ious 0uarter. 1n the #lip side* the co"pany's Mc2ib 3 a sandwich consistin o# a pork patty in barbecue sauce that was recently reintroduced #or a li"ited ti"e ! has been a popular ite" that has de'eloped a loyal and 'ocal #ollowin .

4. 5en!6ay Aspirin 7a'in a bi na"e behind a new product doesn't uarantee success ! and so"eti"es it can e'en be a hindrance* i# the brand is too closely tied to a sin le product or i"a e. 5en!6ay is "ost known #or its uni0ue stron s"ell ! and this pain!relie'in bal"'s war"in 8burnin sensation upon contact with skin. Not exactly a ood #it #or the 5en!6ay aspirin product ori inally launched by P#i9er years a o. As an Entrepreneur article noted* while the products were associated in that they were desi ned #or pain relie#* people /ust couldn't et a taste #or swallowin so"ethin "ade a brand

they associated with a burnin sensation. 5en!6ay "ade the #atal "istake o# attachin a reco ni9able brand na"e to so"ethin totally out o# character. :;or an interestin read* see 5 Generic Products That Are Just As Good.< %. +he =une Microso#t #irst introduced this portable "edia player in 2&&)* with se'eral new enerations o# the de'ice to #ollow. +he =une #aced se'eral "a/or challen es> na"ely* ine'itable co"parisons to the iPod* which rules the portable "edia "arketplace* and the #act that its so#tware is only a'ailable #or ?indows :so #ar<. @n a #inancial report co'erin the #iscal 0uarter endin in Dece"ber 2&&,* Microso#t said =une re'enues had decreased by %4A* or $1&& "illion. Baer"er bla"es the bust on se'eral #actors* includin so#tware that was constantly chan in and iPod's head start o# se'eral years in the "arke. ). Microso#t ?eb+C ?eb+C :now MDN +C< o##ered consu"ers @nternet connection 'ia their tele'ision sets in the "id! 1((&s. A Cable ?orld article by Andrea ;i ler describes it this way> +he ser'ice rew 0uickly at #irst* attractin "ainstrea" users that typically shied away #ro" technolo y. 5ut to ?eb+C's dis"ay* they beca"e the dreaded consu"er> a custo"er who #ailed to produce new re'enue strea"s but insisted on creatin expensi'e custo"er ser'ice proble"s. Do Microso#t which bou ht ?eb+C in 1((.* scrapped the brand. @t ne'er passed the one!"illion!subscriber "ark.

.. 2E 2eynolds' D"okeless Ci arettes @n 1(,,* when e'en second!hand s"oke was dee"ed a serious health risk* the co"pany behind brands like Ca"el decided to launch Pre"ier* a line o# s"okeless ci arettes. 2eporter Ma a9ine said that s"okin the Pre"ier -produced a s"ell and a #la'or that le#t users retchin .- +he taste* co"bined with the ru"or that the ci arette could be used as a deli'ery de'ice #or crack cocaine* pretty "uch uaranteed the product's #ailure.

,. Fello 's 5reak#ast Mates +he idea behind Fello 's 5reak#ast Mates was #airly si"ple !! pack a box o# cereal with "ilk and a spoon* and you ha'e a tasty "eal on the oG 7ey* it worked #or Bunchables* ri htH In#ortunately* Fello 's #ailed to take two thin s into account. ;irst o# all* thou h the "ilk included in the Cereal Mate did not re0uire re#ri eration* no one likes the idea o# war" "ilk. And second* the ads showed parents sleepin while children helped the"sel'es to Cereal Mates !! but the packa in was not child!#riendly. +he con#usion associated with 5reak#ast Mates led to its ulti"ate #ailure.

(.+he Newton* Apple

#n the a e of i*ods, i*hones and )ac6ook *ros, it7s hard to ima ine a time before e/erythin 8pple touched turned to old" Oh but there was one" 8nd it wasn7t all that lon a o" 6ack in 1999, 8pple released a handheld de/ice they hoped would chan e personal computin " #t was officially called )essa e*ad, althou h it was popularly known as Newton :the more capti/atin name of its operatin system;" #t was o/erpriced :<=00-1000; and clunky" #ts handwritin reco nition software > which had been touted by marketers as ?unprecedented@ > was hi hly inaccurate" #t was discontinued in 1998, but the Newton was not a complete debacle" 8fter all, the ad et did become a template for the *.8 cra4e followed"

10" Col ate Fitchen Jntrees %he 6rand Aailures blo explains- #n what must be one of the most bi4arre brand extensions e/er Col ate decided to use its name on a ran e of food products called Col ate1s Bitchen (ntrees" Needless to say, the products did not take off and ne/er left 0"C" soil" %he idea must ha/e been that consumers would eat their Col ate meal, then brush their teeth with Col ate toothpaste" %he trouble was that for most people the name Col ate does not exactly et their taste buds tin lin "