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When Harley-Davidson made motorcycle boots and leather jackets, that made sense. When the rugged brand started hawking cake decorating kits, that made less sense. And it made us laugh. Here are a five other confused brand extensions we heartily endorse.
1. Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Dog Food
The Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books have been bestsellers since the first one was published in 1993. Various special editions followed, including Chicken Soup for the Dog and Cat Lover’s Soul in 1998 and Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul a year later. Seeing a gap in the book-based pet food market, the brand decided to launch dog and cat foods named for the book in the early 2000s. While the website for the company contains answers to questions such as “Where are your foods made?” and “Do you use any chemical preservatives?”, it doesn’t answer the more important questions like, “Why does a book need a tie-in pet food?” and “What if my soul is vegetarian?”
2. Heinz All-Natural Cleaning Vinegar
Every kitchen has a bottle of vinegar. The versatile liquid is a staple in dressings and middle school volcano experiments. But when the popular Household Hint columnist Heloise showed that it could be used to remove rust, kill weeds, and clean a variety of surfaces and materials, vinegar makers started salivating. Heinz, for one, saw the magic liquid’s potential, and expanded into the household cleaner market.Released in 1991 in four test markets and marketed as “Heloise’s Most Helpful Hint,” the Cleaning Vinegar had twice the acid content of regular white vinegar and was lemon scented. Needless to say, the product was a failure. Consumers were confused by the similar looking bottles and the specific purpose of the solution, and the product never made it beyond the test markets.
3. Dunkin Donuts Pizza
In a bid to move beyond donuts and coffee, Dunkin Donuts has been flirting with selling made-to-order personal pizzas in a handful of markets since late 2006. While the pizzas may be delicious, consumers are still wrapping their heads around buying pizzas at a donut shop. While we’re not sure who convinced DD to encroach on Pizza Huts personal pan territory, we’d love to see more products. Dunkin Donuts burritos? Or maybe Dunkin Donuts track shoes (what better way to tie in to their America to run on Dunkin slogan).
4. Gerber Singles
Sounds like something out of an April Fool’s Day press release—a baby food company releasing a version of its product for adults. Gerber Singles were no joke, though, and small jars containing fruits, vegetables, starters, and desserts appeared on store shelves in 1974. Clearly it wasn’t a good idea. Customers had no interest in eating ‘Creamed Beef’ out of a baby food jar, and the name of the product, “Singles” couldn’t have helped either. As Business 2.0’s Susan Casey said, “they might as well have called it ‘I Live Alone and Eat My Meals From a Jar.’” Gerber’s baby food for adults ranks up there with New Coke as one of the worst brand failures of all time.
5. Smith & Wesson Mountain Bikes
Smith & Wesson are the largest handgun manufacturer in the United States, and have even made “this home protected by a Smith & Wesson security system” claims true with the release of a security system of sorts. Smart move. A less savvy extension? Introducing a mountain bike. First marketed to police officers, the bikes are now available to all consumers anxious to get their hands on a bike bearing the name of their favorite gun company. Of course, the company is offering a whole lot incentive: Customers who add a set of handcuffs or some handguns onto their bike purchase won’t get charged for shipping and handling!
Know of any stranger brand extensions? Drop us a line in the comments.
ed. note: We stand corrected! We’ve changed the Dunkin Donuts pizza section to reflect the reader comments.
I can’t wait for the introduction of “Smith & Wesson Oil” to make salad dressing from.
posted by Harl Delos on 7-23-2008 at 6:21 am
I had a girl friend who would eat baby food whenever she was on a diet. From a strictly caloric and portion control point of view, it kind of makes sense.
posted by KJ on 7-23-2008 at 7:00 am
My son eats baby food…
But he is a baby.
posted by Witty Nickname on 7-23-2008 at 8:15 am
I’m pretty sure Dunkin’ Donuts is currently pushing iced tea and oven-baked sandwiches for lunch.
posted by Craig on 7-23-2008 at 8:15 am
Almost all the Dunkin Donuts in northern Delaware sell personal pizzas and flatbread sandwiches. Something they just started doing in 2008. Made no sense to me at first, but now I am addicted. I can simultaneously satisfy my iced coffee cravings and get lunch. Yum.
posted by Stacey on 7-23-2008 at 8:45 am
ny dunkin’ donuts are still serving pizza and flatbreads… they’re basically just the same frozen meals you can get at the grocery store, though.
posted by Meg on 7-23-2008 at 8:50 am
Dunkin Donuts recently came back to the Indianapolis area. When they opened the store in Carmel for over a month they had to have cops help direct traffic outside the store! They have the pizza and flatbread sandwiches here as well.
posted by Stef on 7-23-2008 at 8:52 am
Yup, Dunkin is doing the pizza and flatbread thing here in NJ. Of course Dunkin and Baskin Robbins are housed in the same store so it does kind of make sense. Kinda.
posted by beth on 7-23-2008 at 8:58 am
Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins are owned by the same parent company. They used to own Togo’s as well, but this was recently spun off, though I think they tried using the Togo’s brand to help market their non-doughnut items. From a business standpoint Dunkin Donuts had to expand into lunch and dinner market as its hard to justify allowing capital investments (the building, ovens, etc) sit idle for half the day not earning any money.
As for the Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul Dog Food I would simply like to know if it contains any actual chicken soup.
posted by Florida on 7-23-2008 at 9:26 am
Smith and Wesson makes nice knives as well. So if you’re going to bring a knife to a gunfight, S&W can cover you both ways.
posted by Jim on 7-23-2008 at 9:32 am
I can confirm a pizza/flatbread presence in Chicago.
Guns and bicycling is a dangerous mixing combination; clearly an order meant to be used separately.
posted by K. C. K. on 7-23-2008 at 9:49 am
Gerbers banana food is good! my mom got hooked on it when i was an infant…now i eat it and my husband does too…..lol
posted by Mindy on 7-23-2008 at 10:47 am
When I have a big singing engagement, I’ll only eat baby food for the day leading up to it. Less chances of burping and having an unsettled stomach. It’s gross - I’ll give ya that, but it works. The fruits aren’t too bad, the rest of it is foul. Can’t see ever making a habit of it.
posted by Sara Smile on 7-23-2008 at 10:53 am
McDonald’s also used to sell pizzas. They used to sell the “McPizza” which was a personal size pizza and you could get it in either pepperoni, Hawaiian or deluxe. They didn’t last too long though. It’s probably because they tasted like a pizza flavoured cookie.
posted by Cardinal Fang on 7-23-2008 at 12:00 pm
Dunking Donuts doesn’t even sell a good tasting doughnut. Why would I want a pizza that has sprinkles on it?
I don’t understand why you would not go to a pizza shop for pizza and doughnut shop for doughnuts.
I will never go to McD’s for a steak, would you?
posted by bucsfan on 7-23-2008 at 12:44 pm
Re: Harley-Davidson cake decorating
H.D. rarely produces these products itself, they usually license other manufactures to use their logos. Harley-D is usually approached by these people rather than initiating the products themselves.
My company tried to license HD’s trademarks a few years ago for slot machines. Talks broke down over fees; they wanted roughly 40% of the US GDP.
I got the impression that they would license any product that met their fee schedule. (How about a exhaust-scented Yankee Candle? I am sure they would allow it.) Beside where how else would the loud tailpipe and leather vest crowd get wedding cake decorations?
posted by n2y2 on 7-23-2008 at 12:50 pm
Actually, one of Dunkin’s north-of-the-border competitors has a really great lunch complement on their menu (Man, do I miss Tim Hortons), so I completely understand the idea of the so-called donut shop having lunch foods.
Although, I wish that there were more Timmys in the States. The only ones I’ve found beyond Canada are in Northwestern New York.
I might think about having lunch at a Dunkin Donuts (which I haven’t seen down in MD, but I might not be frequenting the right ones), but I rarely pass up a soup and sandwich combo at Tim Hortons. When I can find one.
posted by ACute Angle on 7-23-2008 at 1:29 pm
Actually, the Heinz vinegar isn’t completely off base, as it is a major ingredient in ketchup.
posted by Lucas on 7-23-2008 at 1:38 pm
ACute Angle–Oh my God, Tim Horton’s is the best thing ever. I’ve only been there once, when I went to Quebec, but they seriously have such good food. I really wish they had some stateside.
As for Dunkin’ Donuts selling pizza–none around where I live (Maryland) sell lunch-type stuff–just coffee, donuts and ice cream, for the one paired with Baskin Robbins. I like that particular set up–who wouldn’t want ice cream and a donut at the same time (or a choice between the two)?
posted by Rosalie on 7-23-2008 at 1:55 pm
there are tim horton’s all over the metro detroit area. probably because it is so close to windsor.
posted by katherine on 7-23-2008 at 2:33 pm
um, newsflash- there are tim hortons EVERYWHERE in southwest ohio, and west virginia. i really dont think it has anything to do with being near canada.
posted by xchachiversacex on 7-23-2008 at 3:36 pm
That Dunkin’ Donuts item isn’t true — in the past six months or so, all of the Dunkin’ Donuts stores around here got convection ovens, and every one of them now sells mini-pizzas as well as toasted flatbread sandwiches.
posted by MH on 7-23-2008 at 4:56 pm
Here in Southern California, it seems every donut store - chain or not - sells something else, like “donuts & Chinese food” or “donuts & video rentals”.
posted by Norkio on 7-23-2008 at 5:49 pm
cardinal-
some mcdonald’s still serve pizza. the one on the thruway outside buffalo also serves hotdogs and wings.
i was too horrified to try any of them though.
posted by elih on 7-23-2008 at 7:31 pm
I used to work at a Tim Horton’s right next to a Dunkin Donuts. People always came to our store more for sandwiches and coffee than donuts. I can tell you, though, that Timmy’s food is far from fresh. You know those brown and serve rolls and stuff you can get in the frozen food section of your grocery store? Yeah, that is what the donuts and sandwich rolls are. There’s a special donut oven that basically warms them up. Always fresh? Not quite!
posted by katie on 8-1-2008 at 12:17 pm
I read about the Gerber Singles in an Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. It didn’t go over well.
posted by Sara on 8-15-2008 at 12:18 pm
It should read, “Smith and Wesson IS”, not “Smith and Wesson ARE”. It is the name of a company, not the names of two people! ROFLMAO
posted by Dawnmarie Rose on 10-1-2008 at 3:18 pm