Today's Tropicana Products, a subsidiary of PepsiCo, started back in 1947, when Anthony Rossi moved from New York to Palmetto - just south of St. Pete on the other side of Tampa Bay - and started Manatee River Packing Company, a packing plant for fruit box gifts and fruits destined to be thrown on salads. Then, in 1952, he bought an old cannery in Bradenton, which is now the home of the Tropicana processing plant. The familiar "Tropicana" name game from their premium juice they provided, and the company took that name as their own in 1957. Pepsi bought them in 1998, and the rest is history.
For many years, they've had one of the most recognizable logos in advertising history: the fresh-picked orange, dew still dripping off of it, with a straw in it. It's meant to symbolize the freshness of the juice, as it really does taste fresh-squeezed. I, amongst millions of people daily, enjoy a cold glass of OJ in the morning (pulp-free, please!), and have grown to love that little orange being massacred with a plastic drinking utensil. Thanks for taking one for the team, little guy!However, at the beginning of the year, PepsiCo committed its own "New Coke"-sized faux pas, changing that beloved death-by-straw orange into this:
Classy? I guess. Bland? Completely. Enticing? Meh, not really. It's just a glass of orange juice, nothing special or fancy. Now, if it came with its own champagne or vodka, I'd be more likely to buy it, but since mimosas and screwdrivers in the morning right before work could be hazardous both to your driving and career longevity, that's probably not the image you want to go for. And apparently Pepsi realize they messed up, too, because it was changed quickly thereafter back to the lovable, drinkable orange.
So, that brings me to the reason for this blog post: marketing failures. And this is where I ask for audience participation. Other than the "New Coke" fiasco, what big advertising "miscalculations" stick out in your mind? I'm curious to see what others consider an Epic Fail.
Alright, I'm outta here. Don't forget, the Phils are on CSN at 7:05 and the Rays are on Sun Sports at 8:40. Oh, and if you're out in Denver, don't forget to don your Rays gear and head out to Johnny’s New York Pizza & Pasta Shop in Lakewood tomorrow to get your free meal, since the Rays still made it to the World Series. See? The Rays may not have won, but they're still honored across the country for being bad-ass last year!
There are millions of marketing issues that we see everyday. I can understand a marketing mess up. It's simply human error at it's best. Of course if you know what you are thinking and explain what you are thinking to a group before you show them your new idea they will understand it better. But how about we focus more on some of the "out of left field" products that get marketed. To quote a few "You can SHAVE the baby" brand baby doll. Snugglers brand pillows which are body pillows with a face and a mouth for kids. These things literally look like child size pornographic tools. These are the two most recent ones to come acrossed my desk.
ReplyDeleteMovie-wise, there are plenty of trailers that are horrible manipulated to show a different type of movie, one that may sell better than the actual movie. As a result, everyone that comes out of the movie is disappointed, whether the movie was good or not. A perfect example: The Village.
ReplyDeleteHmmm interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've got a blog topic for you, something that really gets under my skin to the point that I can see straight. First I'll divulge some information from my passed to shed some light on my perspective. June 18th 2005 I had a drunk driver nearly kill me, my now ex-girlfriend and my best friend. The intoxicated person had a notable history of illegal actions and intoxication. I'm still in a legal battle trying to be compensated for my lifelasting injuries and losses I endured. The other driver did suffer from this but I feel not as strict as it should have been. Which leads me to my point, a celebrity, an athlete or a politician could do this and pretty much get off scot free. WHY? What makes them better, or above anyone else? Why did Donte Stallworth kill someone while driving drunk and only get 30 days in jail. HE KILLED SOMEONE. Let me go do that, you won't see me ever again. Why does a man who is highly overpaid, as all athletes and celebrities are, get less of a consequence than anyone else. Does the fatherless children or widow left behind not feel as much grief as someone that was killed by me or you? Why do we as a society endorse these celebrity's getting paid so much? Why did Robert DeNiro get paid $10,000,000.00 for a 10 second commercial in Japan? What recession? Obama, politicians, people of America and people of the World, if you truly want to fix this big rock we call home then let's get our priorities straight. Let's not pay a 1st string or 3rd string quarterback more than a police officer. Why should someone sent to entertain us be paid more than someone sent to lead us. It would be compared to the court jester having more power than the king himself. Sounds pretty ridiculous but it's our society that the masses created. A doctor, a teacher, a lawyer, a firefighter all get paid less than a professional athlete that may never start a game in his or her life. Unions, the next on my list, how can a group of people demand to be paid rates so high that it will destroy the company. Have we become so greedy that we would rather see our brothers and sisters starve if it means we get steak for one night. It sickens me to think about this.
ReplyDeleteIf we were to actually use our intelligence and have a society were priorities were in place then teachers and police officers would be paid to the point that they can afford to live. However, the penalties and the requirements would be much stricter. Let one corrupt police officer or child molesting teacher off with a slap on the wrist and you condone the action, which makes it partially your fault. Does our society realize that when they dial 911 and an ambulance shows up that the crew can't afford to pay their bills. Some city EMT's get $9/hr. I used to get $11.25 LAST YEAR and that was considered high. Why is it that the people we rely on for life get treated like scum but those we rely on to pass our boredom get treated like gods.
We founded this country on equality, how is it equal to have a quota of certain races or sexes or orientations to fill? How is it equal to give someone who catches a ball more than a brain surgeon? How is it that a police officer has less power than a rock star? Why is it that I can go through 5+ years of higher education and not get hired anywhere because I have the wrong last name. Equality is basing things off of the best candidate regardless of any other factor.
Ok, I need to get work done.
Thank you for that wonderful tangent, Richie. Though, I may have to take you up on that blog post at some point. Sounds like you need to start your own blog, however.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing however, I don't see the point; unless we could make a link so that it pops up on every computer in the world :-D
ReplyDelete