The Weirdest Product Releases From 18 Famous Brands [Infographic]

When it comes down to it, the underlying goal of any type of advertising is to solidify a company’s brand identity in the minds of consumers. The most successful of which become virtually synonymous with goods or services. Starbucks to coffee. Coca-Cola to soft drinks. Nike to athletic equipment.

Sometimes, though, a brand’s identity is so intertwined with a type of product that any attempt to branch out can be, well, really weird.  Like, “is this an April Fool’s Day joke?” weird.

Take Colgate, for instance. Long associated with toothpaste, toothbrushes, and all things oral hygiene, it made the unfortunate decision to try its luck in the ready-to-eat dinner market by introducing a line of frozen foods called Kitchen Entrees. Needless to say, these products didn’t stay in grocery store freezers for long, as consumers were unable to disassociate the minty fresh taste of Colgate toothpaste from Colgate spaghetti.

But this wasn’t the only instance of a brand launching a disconnected product line. In fact, it’s happened a number of times and surprisingly, not all have failed.

Check out this interesting infographic from Plumbworld chronicling the weirdest examples of brands branching out.