Marketers have long realized the “power” of extending a product line by adding new flavours, healthier versions, or making other minor changes. This gives the product more shelf space and presumably increases sales.
I used to like to grocery shop in the US. Occasionally you would see a WTF item like bubble gum flavoured dog chews.
But it can be taken to extremes. I like plain flavoured Triscuits. Nice with cheese. Few ingredients. Even slightly more fibre than some crackers.
Then they came out with “ThinCrisps” and “Organic Triscuit” ($2 more) which are essentially similar to the original. Then one chemically-tasting flavour after another - Gouda, avocado, black pepper, rosemary… I think they have at least 10 flavours. They take up lots of space and only the original ones seem to be perpetually sold out or have just a few boxes left.
I’m sure this idea applies to other products. What is the worst example of “original is best” WTF brand extension?
Quaker Oats has sold rice cakes for a long time. You know, the dense, dry, puck-shaped thing, the size of a saucer, that tastes like cardboard but has only 35 calories per puck. They were called “Rice cakes” or “galettes de riz”. They started adding flavours.
Then they came up with the Crispy Minis, which were tiny rice cakes flavoured like potato chips.
When they found that they had built some brand recognition with Crispy Minis, they renamed the full-sized rice cakes Crispy Minis as well. At least they could have called them Crispy Maxis or something.
As a woman who has used menstrual pads, “Crispy Maxi” is not a pleasant product image…
I am still amazed by the variety of pregnancy tests. Sure, make them more accurate, make them more sensitive. That’s an improvement. But who needs a freaking digital screen to say whether they’re pregnant or not? One line = no. Two lines = yes. Or the ones with the curved handles so you don’t pee on your hand. If you’re not willing to risk a little pee on your hand, you’re not ready to have a baby. (BTW, I’ve used my share of regular pregnancy tests, and I’ve never once peed on my hand.)
Probably afraid of bringing feminine hygiene products to mind.
What makes me sad is when a venerated brand’s company goes belly up and the vultures buy the name and slap it on anything they can get a hold of. Poloroid, for example is appearing on some of the damndest stuff lately. I mean, come on, shoes?
A new combine can cost $250,000 and up, while a heavy duty tractor can run $100,000. Ain’t no toy that’s going to convince a farmer to choose Deere over Case.
Maybe not, but I know a few farmers, and there’s quite a bit of brand loyalty for farming equipment. I figure that the toys are there to start building brand loyalty among potential future farmers.
Back in the mid 1970s, Kraft had a line of flavored peanut butters that bombed, terribly.
Except at our house. The at-time stepmother was an executive assistant @ Kraft and she brought home the worst peanut butter ever conceived by the hand of man, and refused to buy more until we at all of it. The banana-flavored PB. The chocolate-flavored PB. The strawberry-flavored PB.
The idiotic idea that Coca-Cola needed “improving” has got to be the worst-ever marketing decision! After weeks of screaming by consumers, the Powers That Be firmly clamped their tails between their legs and brought back original Coke.
There was a brief period of schizophrenia with “New Coke” and “Classic Coke.”
I want to stand on my soapbox and scream, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
~VOW
