Americans Will Buy ANYTHING
I’ve always wondered what the Chinese must think as they make things like truck balls and hats that (literally) look like a pile of crap. “Man, these silly Americans will buy ANYTHING!…Hey, wait a minute, we keep loaning money to these idiots…”
The other day I was browsing the aisles of Talin Market, a locally-owned, wonderfully eclectic supermarket – with foods and items for all over the world. As I was happily pondering the miscellany in the kitchen equipment section…I happened onto the Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl. Yes, I could buy my very own plastic bowl, “branded” by RR. According to the blog post announcing it back in 2007:
“Okay Garbage Bowl fans, happy times are coming. According to HFN, Rachael Ray has teamed up with to tabletop and giftware manufacturer Precidio Inc. to create a line of melamine and acrylic tableware.”
Garbage Bowl fans??? (I can practically hear the snickers from China now…)
Now, I actually like Ms. Ray; I even watch her cooking show on occasion. (For those of you who don’t – she always has a designated garbage bowl on the counter for all those scraps and such. Makes it faster and easier to put a meal together.) But, little did I know that my using a plain ol’ mixing bowl for the potato peelings is insufficient. Nooo…I really should have an OFFICIAL garbage bowl.
Another case of product line extension (and some marketers) run amok. And slapping someone’s name on something doesn’t guarantee success. (Ed McMahon vodka anyone? May he rest in peace.)
(And isn’t it nice they show the bowl with – um – garbage in it so we don’t get confused?)
Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, product development, branding, product line extensions
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