CuriositiesJUL 24, 2018

74 Failed Products That Didn’t Live Up To The Hype

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It’s not easy to introduce a new product to the market—even for famous brands. Sometimes, consumers aren’t ready for the product, and sometimes bad marketing is to blame. And if that happens, even an enormous marketing budget can’t make people buy the failed products.

You see, when it comes to entrepreneurship and creativity, not every idea can be a home run. Some end up being such bad products that they leave us scratching our heads and asking, “What were they thinking?”

Here at Bored Panda, we’ve gathered 74 such failed products that are notorious for being so unsuccessful that some of them even managed to drive some companies out of business. From rebranding and product extension fails, such as the funny of Colgate lasagna, to startup companies, like Juicero, these products crashed and burned in the pursuit of innovation.

Scroll below to delve into the world of the biggest product failures ever. You’ll be downright outraged by some, while others will leave you in tears; either way, those are some pretty epic failed innovations.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1 Kitchen Entrees, Colgate, 1982

In 1982, Colgate came up with the weirdest brand extension idea. They decided to sell frozen dinners! This plan backfired, probably because consumers couldn’t help but think that the Colgate food tasted just like their toothpaste. No company launches a product thinking that it will decrease sales of their other products, but Colgate should’ve seen it coming. Their toothpaste sales plummeted after the launch of the kitchen entrees line.

museumoffailure.com

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197points

#2 Office Assistant Clippy, Microsoft, 1990s

Clippy is described by some as one of the worst user interfaces ever developed. Clippy was designed to pop up whenever the software thought that the user needed help and managed to annoy quite a few people. After Microsoft acknowledged its unpopularity they decided to remove the feature.

wikipedia.org

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184points

#3 EZ Squirt Ketchup, Heinz, 2006

In 2000, Heinz decided to add an unexpected twist to their ketchup to catch children’s attention. They came up with "EZ Squirt" colored ketchup, which came in three main colors: teal, green, and purple. The idea wasn’t meant to last on the market. After six years it was discontinued.

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170points

#4 Bic For Her, 2012

In 2012, Bic released a product for women they didn’t even know they needed—“lady pens”. These pointlessly gendered pens were mocked and failed to gain a consumer base.

unknown

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161points

#5 Frito-Lay Wow! Chips, 1998

In 1998, Frito-Lay introduced new fat-free potato chips. People got caught up in the hype of this “miracle food,” and within the first year, sales reached $400 million. Sales plummeted soon after, however, when it was revealed that the chips contained Olestra, a fat substitute that causes abdominal cramping and loose stools.

unknown

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142points

Five Famous Failed Companies

In the fast-paced corporate world, even the big shots can sometimes trip over their own feet. It’s a reminder from the universe (and consumers): nobody is immune to change. We’ve rounded up five brands that took off with a lot of promise but fizzled out quickly. These failed brands made some questionable decisions that ultimately led to their demise.

Quibi

Streaming platform Quibi had a rapid demise in 2020. It promised to revolutionize mobile entertainment with 10-minute clips but didn’t consider the similar free content available on YouTube and TikTok. The company folded just six months post-launch despite receiving $1.7 billion in funding.

Blockbuster

Blockbuster was once a household name for movie rentals. However, it failed to adapt to the digital era when it refused to buy Netflix in 2000. Blockbuster’s brick-and-mortar rental model quickly became obsolete in a world dominated by streaming services.

Theranos

Theranos claimed to revolutionize blood testing with its innovative technology. However, the company’s failed product didn’t live up to the hype. Theranos faced legal challenges and investigations and ultimately shut down in 2018. The CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, faced legal consequences for misleading investors and patients.

Yahoo

Yahoo is not a failed brand, as it is still around. However, it’s a tale of missed opportunities and colossal missteps. It got cold feet on mammoth opportunities—first, it refused to buy Google for $1 million in 1998 and Facebook for $1.1 billion in 2006. Then, it snubbed Microsoft’s $44.6 billion bid in 2008. It was humbled in 2016 when Verizon swooped in for a bargain, buying Yahoo for around $5 billion, a fraction of its former glory.

Blackberry

BlackBerry was leading the mobile phone market in the early 2000s. Their key differentiation was the ability to send emails and messages on the go. Its technology, however, quickly became obsolete with the rise of Android and iOS smartphones. The failed brand stopped manufacturing phones in 2017.

#6 Google +, 2011

In 2011, Google launched its new social network Google+. However, it never lived up to their expectations of becoming a Facebook competitor. It was a huge disappointment.

Google

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136points

#7 Trump Steaks, Donald Trump, 2007

Donald Trump kicked off his “world’s greatest” line of premium steaks in 2007. However, consumers didn't agree with the description of 'great'. The product was discontinued after just two months because of low sales.

unknown

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136points

#8 Rejuvenique Face Mask, 1999

In 1999, the nightmarish "Rejuvenique Facial Toning Mask" was launched. This creepy mask was intended to tighten facial muscles with... shock therapy. Consumers revealed that it felt as bad as it sounded.

amazon.com

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129points

#9 Crystal Pepsi, 1992

In 1992, Pepsi introduced a new product called “Crystal Pepsi”. The product died a year later. David C. Novak, who is credited with introducing the concept, admitted: “It would have been nice if I’d made sure the product tasted good.”

amazon.com

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127points

#10 Cheetos Lip Balm, Cheetos, 2005

In 2005, someone at Frito-Lay decided launching a Cheetos-flavored lip balm would be a great idea. Even those of us who have never tried Cheetos can understand why this idea flopped.

unknown

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127points

#11 Twitter Peek, 2009

Launched in 2009, Twitter Peek was the first and the last Twitter-only mobile device. The product was created to do only one thing - send and receive tweets, but managed to fail at this simple function. The device gave only a 20-character preview of the tweets. It was no surprise that consumers made a hard pass on this device.

amazon.com

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117points

#12 Thirsty Cat! And Thirsty Dog!, 1994

In 1994, a bottled water made for cats and dogs was launched. The beverage was carbonated, vitamin-enriched, and flavored. The product flopped after consumers realized it was essentially soda and completely unnecessary to give to their pets.

unknown

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112points

#13 Samsung Galaxy Note 7, 2016

In 2017, everyone was talking about this explosive failure—the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. It lasted less than a year in the market after Samsung recalled around 2.5 million phones due to complaints of overheating and exploding batteries.

iphonedigital

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99points

#14 Hoverboards, 2015

In 2015, Hoverboards became one of the biggest tech flops. Why? Because they could potentially catch fire and burn your house down.

Soar Boards

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97points

#15 Juicero, 2017

In 2013, Juicero introduced a juicer called the Juicero Press. This device was sold with packets of pre-juiced fruits and vegetables sold exclusively by the company. They were humiliated when consumers realized that the packets could be squeezed by hand just as efficiently as with the juicer. Later, Juicero announced that it was suspending its juicer sales and repurchasing the products from customers.

unknown

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96points

#16 Google Glass, 2013-2014

Google Glass, launched in 2013, was a very flawed attempt to create smart glasses. The device retailed for $1,500 and failed to perform its intended functions well. These high-tech glasses also reportedly raised some very serious safety and privacy concerns.

Bill Grado

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95points

#17 New Coke, Coca-Cola Co, 1985

In 1985, Coca-Cola Co. decided to reformulate Coke. The company invested $4 million into a nationwide taste test. And despite the New Coke doing well in taste tests, people's reactions were extremely negative after the launch. Within three months of New Coke’s release, the company had to reintroduce the original formula and rebrand it as Coca-Cola Classic.

The Coca-Cola Company

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94points

#18 Cocaine, Redux Beverages, 2007

This energy drink was pulled from shelves in the US because of its suggestive name. The FDA decided that Cocaine was “illegally marketing the drink as both a street drug alternative and a dietary supplement.” The drink is still sold in Europe under its original name.

theimpulsivebuy

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77points

#19 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Atari, 1982

Atari spent $20 million to secure the box office hit E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial thinking they had found a profitable source for video game development. The company produced four million cartridges however 2.5 million were left unsold and were dumped in a landfill.

wikipedia.org

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74points

#20 Amazon's Fire Phone, 2014

Amazon decided to enter the smartphone market with the Fire Phone in 2014. However, it was very unsuccessful and was discontinued a year later. The company’s CEO Tom Szkutak indicated that the pricing strategy was to blame for this product fail.

Romazur

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71points

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