(Photo by Mike Licht) We cruised into the office parking lot in our mint-condition Edsel, blasting Chris Gaines on the stereo, and sipping an ice cold New Coke (from the stockpile we've been hoarding since the '80s), when we suddenly realized something disturbing: We're marketing outsiders. You see, in our youth, the popular kids scoffed at our "Howard the Duck" lunchbox, our disc film camera, and our Betamax copy of "Hudson Hawk." And maturity didn't improve things. As adults, we've tried to get friends to enjoy our favorite movies ("Gigli," "Showgirls," "Wild Wild West," "Basic Instinct 2") and we tell them about the revolutionary innovations (Segway, Microsoft Bob, boo.com) that are going to change the world. Those looks of skepticism tell us what we already knew -- that we are in a sad minority of consumers who enjoy flops. The fickle public may not appreciate the genius of Crystal Pepsi, "Cop Rock," and "Battlefield Earth," but there are still some of us who don't think that comparisons to "Ishtar" are insults. Suggested Sites... Cokelore: New Coke - on the 24th anniversary weekend of the introduction of our favorite beverage, we raise a big, frosty mug of New Coke in a salute to marketing flops. Failure Magazine: Auto Biography - the sad history of the Edsel. Product and Brand Failures: A Marketing Perspective - learning from marketing mistakes. 9 Famous TV Flops - oh, come on! "Supertrain" rocked! NPR: A Salute to Famous Movie Flops - all kidding aside, "Cleopatra" is a pretty entertaining film.

Directory categories: Edsel, Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, Worst Films, Worst of the Web

Archived under: Advertising, Anniversaries, Autos, Brands, Business, Coca Cola, Disasters, Edsel, Flops, Food and Drink, Marketing, Movies, Pepsi, TV

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