Top 5 Worst Brand Extensions
Posted by Steve Reeves on March 29, 2012
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Many brands have successfully extended their brands. It’s the thinking man’s choice for low risk and potentially high returns innovation. However, there have been some brand extensions that have gone a step too far. Here are my top 5 worst brand extensions!
5. COSMOPOLITAN YOGURT
Cosmopolitan is the international magazine for women it has 58 international editions, is published in over 35 languages and is distributed in more than 100 countries. It is a magazine brand, a very successful magazine brand it is not an FMCG brand. So why it thought it could simply extend into yogurt was anyone’s guess. From the time of its release, the yogurt was supposedly off of the shelves in 18 months.
4. COLGATE KITCHEN ENTREES
This is one of the most bizarre brand extensions ever!! Colgate decided to use its name on a range of food products called Colgate’s Kitchen Entrees. Colgate is not a brand that say’s yummy, delicious food. Chewing gum maybe but not savoury food.
3. FRITO LEMONADE
Frito Lay Lemonade might seem like a good idea: Eating salty corn chips makes you thirsty, and lemonade can cure that thirst. Unfortunately, when people think Fritos, “thirst-quenching” is not an adjective that comes to mind. Therefore, Frito Lay’s “logical” brand extension turned out to not be so logical after all.
2. BIC UNDERWEAR
Bic has built its brand on the convenience of disposable products. Disposable razors? Disposable lighters? Convenient and affordable. Disposable underwear? Just plain weird. Other than the disposability factor, consumers could not find a link between the underwear and Bic’s other products. Without a unifying factor, people were just confused. In addition, the idea of buying intimate attire from a company that also produces pens apparently does not appeal to most consumers.
1.HARLEY DAVIDSON PERFUME
Harley-Davidson fans are known as very loyal customers. However, even the beloved motorcycle brand can go too far. T-shirts and cigarette lighters were one thing, but when the company started to make aftershave and perfume, fans were not impressed. As the saying goes, less is more, and Harley-Davidson had spread itself too thin. Or maybe people just weren’t too keen on the idea of smelling like a motorcycle.
What would make your top list of brand extension failures and why?
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