Marketing gaffes

"Gaffe" = a bad mistake that should have been avoided

Marketing gaffes occur when a company "markets" (advertise, sell, promote) a brand without anticipating negative consequences or consumer backlash

Classic marketing gaffes

Chevy Nova

• General Motors promoted the Chevrolet "Nova" without realizing that the name, "Nova" would be understood to Spanish speakers as "no va", or "doesn't go"
  • wikipedia calls this story an "urban legend": Chevrolet Chevy II / Nova - Wikipedia
  • however, the story came from somewhere, so it was most likely a common joke in Spanish-speaking Nova markets

Honda Prelude

• In 1978, Honda launched a sports sedan
  • marketed as an affordable, easy to drive sports car that women could purchaser as well as men
• however, Japanese consumers became wary of the car because it had a distinct positioning of the lever to recline the passenger seat
  • located facing the driver (in the middle) rather than the on the outer (by the door),
  • consumers in Japan took offense, calling it the skenobu, for "horny knob" because it allowed for the driver to recline the passenger
  • the model became unpopular in Japan because of bad publicity about the lever's placement

• see: The Honda Prelude Was Controversial In Japan Because Of Something Called The 'Pervert Lever' (jalopnik.com)

New Coke

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