A Notable Failure Of The 90s

I was recently reminiscing about my childhood and for some odd reason I thought of Crystal Pepsi, and the commercial that aired when Pepsi introduced this failure of an idea in the early 90s. I then realized this is a great example that even with a strong advertising campaign and the use of an unforgettable soundtrack (Van Halen’s “Right Now” - what a perfect song choice), some product introductions flat out fail.

If you don’t recall, one of the large marketing fads of the early 90s was equating clarity with purity in various new product remakes. Pepsi obviously jumped on this bandwagon with the introduction of Crystal Pepsi and equated the clearness of this new cola with purity and health. Although they saw some initial success, this product quickly died.

If your customers love your product and brand the way it is, don’t reinvent it just to follow the latest marketing fads and trends. Truly question if your product and brand will benefit from embracing these trends, and more importantly, how will it benefit your customers.