Business
Evian Water Bra
Brand-Extension Failure: Evian released a "water bra" in 2005, apparently because they thought their association with bottled water could persuade women to buy water-filled bras. The idea was that water-filled bras would be cooling. As far as I can tell, the product was discontinued soon after being introduced.More info: impactlab.com
Posted By: Alex - Thu May 13, 2021 -
Comments (6)
Category: Business, Underwear
Follies of the Madmen #506
Not sure how a cigar-smoking toddler promotes coffee...
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 04, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Business, Advertising, Tobacco and Smoking, Children, Coffee and other Legal Stimulants, Nineteenth Century
Follies of the Madmen #505
All scholars of oddball advertising are familiar with the Maidenform Bra campaign that used the tagline "I dreamed I...in my Maidenform Bra." But I don't believe I've ever seen the campaign translated from print to 3-D.
"This is an original vintage photograph from the 1950s. It shows a surreal Maidenform Bra window display at Parsons Souders store in downtown Clarksburg, West Virginia."
Source.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Apr 12, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Underwear, 1950s
Lingerie
Posted By: Paul - Sat Mar 27, 2021 -
Comments (2)
Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues, Body, Business, Movies, Underwear, 1920s
Follies of the Madmen #503
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 24, 2021 -
Comments (1)
Category: Business, Advertising, Motor Vehicles, Sexuality
Bic Disposable Pantyhose
1976: The Bic Pen Corp. decided to branch out into the women's underwear market by introducing a line of disposable pantyhose. The thinking was that their company was already known for making disposable pens and lighters. So why not disposable pantyhose as well? Plus, they figured that female secretaries would be keen to order pantyhose together with other office supplies.
This is now considered to be a classic marketing failure. Matt Haig writes in his book Brand Failures:
The main problem was that the company insisted on using the Bic name. As marketing writer Al Ries has observed, using the same name in unrelated categories can create difficulties. "If you have a powerful perception for one class of product, it becomes almost impossible to extend that perception to a different class," he argues.
The company apparently didn't learn much from this failed product, because in 1989 it introduced Bic Perfume, which is considered to be another classic business blunder.
Chicago Tribune - Apr 3, 1976
Posted By: Alex - Thu Mar 18, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Business, Products, Underwear, 1970s
Follies of the Madmen #502
Baby Napoleon plus goat = ?Source.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 17, 2021 -
Comments (3)
Category: Ambiguity, Uncertainty and Deliberate Obscurity, Animals, Business, Advertising, Domestic, 1950s
Amazon’s Hitler Mustache Logo, and other logo design disasters
BBC News reports that Amazon recently changed its shopping-app logo, in response to complaints that it reminded people of Hitler's mustache. The new logo (below right) is supposed to better represent a piece of parcel tape, which was the original intent, rather than a dictator's mustache.
This reminds me of the topic of logo design disasters, which I once write a short blurb about for another site. That site no longer exists, so I figured I might as well post the blurb here (below, in extended).
More in extended >>
Posted By: Alex - Fri Mar 05, 2021 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Design and Designers
Follies of the Madmen #501
Our jockey shorts will have every male emulating a hula girl.Source.
(Scroll down.)
Posted By: Paul - Wed Mar 03, 2021 -
Comments (5)
Category: Business, Advertising, Underwear, 1950s, Gender-bending
Commercial Telegraph Codes
I was randomly browsing old publications online when I ran across this ad. Thinking about the topic of Communication Codes, I found it hard to believe we had never covered it at WU. But apparently not.
In telecommunication, a commercial code is a code once used to save on cablegram costs.[1]...These codes turned complete phrases into single words (commonly of five letters). These were not always genuine words; for example, codes contained "words" such as BYOXO ("Are you trying to weasel out of our deal?"), LIOUY ("Why do you not answer my question?"), BMULD ("You're a skunk!"), or AYYLU ("Not clearly coded, repeat more clearly.").
Here is a page linking to many digitized volumes.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Mar 02, 2021 -
Comments (0)
Category: Business, Technology, Codes, Cryptography, Puzzles, Riddles, Rebuses and Other Language Alterations, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |