14 Companies That Reversed Their Horrible Attempts At Rebranding

Rebranding is a tricky business for any company, and yet in many cases change is inevitable if brands want to grow. 

If well done, it can lead to unprecedented success. Take, for example, Old Spice or Target.

But when a re-branding goes wrong, it can go very wrong.

Kraft Foods, for instance. Its decision to re-name its international division Mondelez has been met with criticism and even some scandal. Apparently, the name sounds like the Russian word for oral sex.

While Kraft doesn't seem ready to back down on the name yet – it already bought the stock symbol MDLZ  – there are plenty of other companies that have come to regret their adventures in re-branding.

Nissan revives its original brand, Datsun, in new markets.

While the Nissan Motor Company has used that name since the 1930s, it wasn't until 1981 that it called all of the cars it produced Nissan. Until then, its line of cars was called Datsun.

Nissan announced this week that it is bringing back the Datsun brand in developing markets like India, Indonesia, and Russia. Corporate Vice President Vincent Cobee told BusinessWeek that the new Datsun are entry-level cars aimed at "up and coming" people who are "optimistic about the future."

Tropicana tries to streamline its packaging, but ultimately brings back the orange.

When PepsiCo decided to overhaul the Tropicana brand it underestimated how attached consumers were to the design and that orange with a straw in it. When the new cartons his shelves in January 2009, consumers were up in arms.

The New York Times reports that "[s]ome of those commenting described the new packaging as 'ugly' or 'stupid,' and resembling 'a generic bargain brand' or a 'store brand."

After a month of complaints and a 20 percent drop in sales, PepsiCo announced that it would bring the old carton back.

New isn't always better when it comes to Coca-Cola.

In what is commonly referred to as the "marketing blunder of the century" (the 20th century, that is), Coca-Cola tried to replace Coca-Cola Classic with a New Coke in April of 1985. At the time, Coke had been hurt by the Pepsi Challenge and  thought it would be smart to reformulate for better taste. They thought wrong. Consumers went crazy.

Phil Mooney, archivist for the Coca Cola Company, says that there were protests led by the Society for the Preservation of the Real Thing and Old Cola Drinkers of America. One man in San Antonio even drove to a local bottler and bought $1,000 worth of Coca-Cola Classic to stockpile.

The Company returned to their classic formula, and original branding, in July 1985.

Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.