| Kippreport.com

Brave new Ferrari World

June 3, 2010 3:42 by Sam Potter

BIC.

Bic, you say? The maker of the biro? What could they possibly expand into? Pencils? Erasers? Paper clips? Try underwear. Once again, the Brand Failures blog is on the case. “When the Bic brand applied its name to women’s underwear, consisting of a line of ‘disposable pantyhose’ they were unable to attract customers,” says the blog. The product not only made little sense to the customer, it also required entirely new production and distribution processes. Problems there and with sales, “meant that Bic underwear met an early, and not much-mourned death,” says the blog.

SONY PLAYSTATION.

Fancy owning a set of wine glasses with the Playstation logo on them? No, we don’t either. Kipp can’t understand what the high-tech manufacturer was thinking when it came up with this brand stupidity.

BARBIE.

How would you like to dress up like Barbie, for real? Back in 2004 Mattel unveiled a Barbie line of clothing and accessories for adult women. The toy company aimed to roll out the clothing, inexplicably popular in Japan, to the US market. Where are they now? Gone baby, gone. Perhaps they should have heeded their own advice: “The heritage of the Barbie brand in the United States is very sensitive and whatever we do with it, we want to do it right,” said Richard Dickson, senior vice-president of Mattel worldwide brands consumer products at the time.

For many in my – and other – generations, there were posters of Ferraris on our teenage wall. We dreamed of one day riding in, never mind owning, one. With the arrival of its new giant theme park, Ferrari will be hoping that kids will start dreaming of a more realistic engagement with the brand – visiting Ferrari World. But let’s hope the move won’t damage it in the eyes of its genuine customer base – wealthy, and often elite, adults.

Pages: 1 2

Tags: Abu Dhabi, Barbie clothes, bic, bic pantyhose, brand extension, ferrari, Ferrari world, Harley davidson, sony playstation, UAE, wine glasses