Category: Flops

Max Headroom interviews Pepsi for New Coke

Max Headroom is the name of a fictional artificial intelligence, known for his surreal wit and a stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled delivery. The character was created by Peter Wagg, Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton and performed by Matt Frewer.

The [Max Headroom New Coke] campaign was launched with a memorable television commercial, produced by McCann-Erickson New York, with Max saying in his trademark stutter, “C-c-c-catch the wave!” and referring to his fellow “Cokeologists”. In a riposte to Pepsi’s televisual teasings, one showed Headroom asking a Pepsi can he was “interviewing” how it felt about more drinkers preferring the new Coke to it and then cut to the condensation forming on the can. “Sweating?” he asked. It was a huge success, and surveys likewise showed that more than three-quarters of the target market were aware of the ads within two days. Coke’s corporate hotline received more calls about him than any previous spokesperson, some even asking if he was married.

McDonald’s Arch Deluxe Elevator

The Arch Deluxe was a hamburger created and marketed by McDonald’s with the intent of capturing the adult fast food consumer market, presented as a more sophisticated burger for an adult palate. It failed to catch on and is seen as one of the most expensive flops of all time.

In response to the demographic trend of longer lifespans and an expanding older market, McDonald’s made a conscious decision to attempt to market their food to a more adult audience. Rather than compromise their existing brand images, they decided to create a new line of burgers with more sophisticated ingredients. They commissioned Executive Chef Andrew Selvaggio to create the Deluxe line of burgers including the Fish Filet Deluxe, Grilled Chicken Deluxe, Crispy Chicken Deluxe and the flagship Arch Deluxe.

Iceberg/Crisphead – [Is the] most popular type [of lettuce] in the United States, it is very heat-sensitive and was originally adapted for growth in the northern United States. It ships well, but is low in flavor and nutritional content, being composed of even more water than other lettuce types.

An elevator (North American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a type of cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure.

Bill Cosby Predicts Success For New Coke

William Henry “Bill” Cosby, Jr., Ed.D. (born July 12, 1937) is an American actor, comedian, television producer, and activist.

His good-natured, fatherly image has made him a popular personality and earned him the nickname of “America’s Black Dad,” and he has also been a sought-after spokesman for products like Jell-O Pudding, Kodak film, Coca-Cola, and the defunct retail chain Service Merchandise.

For more celebrity videos, check out Video Ichiban.

New Coke was the unofficial name of the sweeter formulation introduced in 1985 by The Coca-Cola Company to replace its flagship soft drink, Coca-Cola or Coke. Properly speaking, it had no separate name of its own, but was simply the new version of Coke, until 1992 when it was renamed Coca-Cola II.