Old Brands Re-Invent For New Generation

Sort of like Hollywood where it's all about remakes, retellings and outright usurping of previous ideas, some companies have found that dusting off old brands rather than inventing new ones is the clearer path to profit. For example, the meat-in-a-can turned email marketing blight Spam brand is making a comeback in Britain and will be the focus of a new broadway musical called Spamalot based on the 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Or take Old Spice. Who knew your Dad's favorite deodorant would now be the choice of today's cool kids. An interesting new campaign and a gaming sponsorship with EA's NCAA 2004 have made the brand the number selling deodorant with a 20 percent market share.

Back in the day when stay-at-home-moms where quaintly referred to as housewives, there was a popular cleaning product called Comet. P & G gave up on the brand in 2001 selling it to Prestige Brands who, rather than letting it die, returned it to the number one selling household cleaning powder with an aggressive low-cost retailer distribution strategy. Perhaps now, with the return of Comet to top spot and the success of ABC's Desperate Housewives, the political correctness of the whole stay-at-home-mom thing can be ditched, playdates can go back to being called "having a friend over" and househusbands can hold their head high.