Brand Marketing Search Engine




Sunday, November 26, 2006

Brand Extension Failures: Bic underwear

Strange but true

Harley Davidson perfume. Coors spring water. Both of these were doomed to failure because of the brand name’s attachment to an unrelated product. However, the prize for the most bizarre brand extension must go to Bic. The company, best known for producing disposable pens, thought its brand name was strong enough to be applied to other categories. Indeed, it had already achieved success with disposable cigarette lighters and safety razors. The unifying factor here was ‘disposability’. Bic pens, lighters and razors were all throw-away goods. Furthermore, Bic could exploit its well established distribution network and sell the lighters and razors in the same outlets as its pens.

However, when the Bic brand applied its name to women’s underwear, consisting of a line of ‘disposable pantyhose’ they were unable to attract customers. Okay, so the disposability element was still there. But that was about it. Consumers were unable to see any link between Bic’s other products and underwear, because of course there was no link.

The main problem was that the company insisted on using the Bic name. As marketing writer Al Ries has observed, using the same name in unrelated categories can create difficulties. ‘If you have a powerful perception for one class of product, it becomes almost impossible to extend that perception to a different class,’ he argues. ‘Names have power, but only in the camp in which they have credentials and when they get out of their camp, when they lose focus, they also lose their power.’ Although this doesn’t hold true for every brand – Virgin is an obvious exception (and one Ries rarely discusses) – it certainly holds true in this instance.

Furthermore, Bic underwear required a completely new distribution channel and required different production technology. The lighters, razors and pens were all made from injection-moulded plastic, and could therefore share resources. Production and distribution problems, combined with the fact that the product’s function was totally unlike that of the previous products, meant that Bic underwear met an early, and not much-mourned death.

Lessons from Bic underwear

  • Exploit existing resources. The other Bic brand extensions made sense because the company could exploit its existing sales force, distribution channels and production technology. None of which came in handy for the range of underwear.
  • Be flexible. The brand association for Bic in the mind of the consumer simply wasn’t flexible enough for a move into an unrelated product category.

11 comments:

jennifersign said...

Great information! Brand Extension can be tricky for some companies.

Unknown said...

This was mention in a newspaper in 1976, you can find the scan of the Independent on Google about Bic pantyhose.

I am about to write this too on my blog.

Jessica

My Blog about Pantyhose

Unknown said...

That's why Gillette is coming out with a 6 bladed shaver at some time in the future. BTW, the Economist predicted such a shaver many years ago.

Unknown said...

Fuck marketing

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Madonaldo said...


I am Alecia,from what I can read. It has been sad news and scam to everyone about Voodoo casters or so. But to me they are so real cause one worked for me not quite long ago.i met this man on a blog his name is Dr Abalaka is a very powerful man.I traveled down to where his shrine his and we both did the ritual and sacrifice.he had no website yet but he promised to create one as costumers are requesting for it, and now i'm free from the powders of sickness.I don't know about you but Voodoo is real;love marriage,finance, job promotion ,lottery Voodoo,poker voodoo,golf Voodoo,Law & Court case Spells,money voodoo,weigh loss voodoo,diabetic voodoo,hypertensive voodoo,high cholesterol voodoo,Trouble in marriage,Barrenness(need a child),Luck, Money Spells,he also cure any cancer and HIV,it's all he does. I used my money to purchase everything he used he never collected a dime from. He told me I can repay him anytime with anything from my heart. Now I don't know how to do that. If you can help or you need his help write him on (dr.abalaka@outlook.com) and also his cell number: 760-935-3804 you can text him because he use to be very busy some times,i believe that your story will change for better,or if you have any question you can contact me here as 1001madonado@gmail.com best of luck.

H said...

They are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu
Jimmy Uso Personal Information

Safdar Alam said...

Your blog post is really very informative & interesting. Thanks for sharing. For more updates on online shopping Coupons & discount Codes please visit Jockey Coupons 2021

Asad shah said...

best women intimate wash I admire this article for the well-researched content and excellent wording. I got so involved in this material that I couldn’t stop reading. I am impressed with your work and skill. Thank you so much.

Pilot gadgets said...

Electric body massager is a device that provides a massage or an invigorating feel to the body, without any human effort. It’s an electrical massager that does the work for you. It runs on electricity and provides a soothing and relaxing sensation to the body and mind. There are different types of massagers to choose from depending on the intensity of the pressure and the area of the body to be massaged. They are generally lightweight and easy to use. They can be used in a home or in a professional setting.
Buy Electric Body Massager For men and women

Josh Hilton said...

Potential customers are looking for your item or service on the internet. An experienced SEO agency will create an effective strategy which gives your website the chance to stand over your competition in search engine results.