THINKing

Dead Brands

2008 was the 100th anniversary of Hydrox, a creme-filled chocolate cookie whose name sounded like bad-tasting medicine. We wrote about the cookie back then because its latest owner, Kellogg’s, was using the anniversary in an attempt to resuscitate the brand. Bring on the CPR!

At the time, we predicted that this was a brand which would not be successful. Sadly, we were right. Kellogg’s just didn’t give it the resources or attention it needed to take on the knock-off that became the number 1 creme-filled cookie, Oreo.  The brand disappeared in 2009.

Although Hydrox had a small, but fanatical following, plus a unique story and point of differentiation, Kellogg’s – I believe – thought that its distribution muscle and PR would win the day.

As a PR guy, I would love for this to have been the case. But in a fight like this, you must advertise, and that’s primarily where Kellogg’s marketing effort failed. Distribution and PR can take down a #2 brand, but when you are trying to supplant a #1, you must dominate advertising and your campaign must have high frequency.

Kellogg’s tried simple CPR when it really needed the defibrillator. Result: a dead brand.

Are there any dead brands you’d like to see brought back to life?

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