Tom Feltenstein

Marketing blunders, boo boos, and snafus have plagued many a business over the recent years. I’m constantly amazed at how many companies make these simple marketing mistakes. Yes, they are funny, but instead of sitting back and laughing, take a moment and learn from the other guy’s mishaps.

Twenty years ago who would have ever thought of paying for a bottle of water? Now, prepackaged water is the standard and the thought of drinking from the tap is less than civilized.  On CNNmoney.com’s 101 Dumbest Moments in Business, they highlight an interesting blunder by Fiji Water. With every other bottled water producer showing pictures of natural springs, waterfalls, and clear mountain lakes touting their clean and refreshing water (though many are bottled in major cities), Fiji wanted to set themselves above their competition by running a magazine ad headlined, “The Label Says Fiji Because It’s Not Bottled in Cleveland.” Officials from Cleveland decided to combat that remark and ran a few tests on Fiji bottled water. The tests revealed that Fiji bottled water contained 6.3 micrograms of arsenic per liter, while the city’s tap water had none. The city released its finding to the media and battle was on, all be it short lived.

Fiji Water earns a Feinstein Folly Award for their witty yet incriminating retort stating that their own authorized tests found less than 2 micrograms of arsenic per liter.  Now granted this amount of arsenic can be compared to a drop in a swimming pool and has no adverse health effects, but the general public doesn’t think in those terms. They hear arsenic and think poison. Fiji may as well have slapped a skull and cross bones on their label.  What we can learn from this is if you’re going to compare your products to anything else, even a city, you’d better have your facts straight. The best marketing is done through creativity and imagination not thoughtless reaction.