Uncle John’s Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader@ by Bathroom Readers’ Institute
Authors: Bathroom Readers’ Institute
Ads: Link
to watch on their computers. Hareb came up with Um Saeed, the first of his four grandmother characters, while he was still living in the dorm. By 2003 he’d developed a concept for an entire show, which he sold to the satellite channel Sama Dubai.
FULL CIRCLE
One year after Al Shamshoon bit the dust, the first episode of Freej aired in the same coveted time slot—the first night of Ramadan. Unlike Al Shamshoon, Freej, the Arab world’s first 3-D animated series, was a hit from the very start. By the time the second season of Freej aired the following year, half of all television viewers in the UAE were tuning in to watch the show. Stay tuned: You may be watching one of these days, too: In 2009 Hareb entered into talks with American media companies to bring his show to the United States. (Until then, you can look for clips on YouTube.)
Mississippi’s largest “crop”: catfish—the state produces 150,000 tons a year.
PRODUCT FLOPS
Don’t try to make your product too new or too improved…or nobody will know what to do with it .
N OT-SO-INSTANT COFFEE
Since the 1960s, there have been two ways that most Americans make coffee at home: 1) a standard Mr. Coffee-style coffee maker, and 2) adding hot water to “instant coffee” in a cup. The first way takes about five minutes, and the second takes about three. In 1990 Maxwell House came up with a third option: Maxwell House Brewed Coffee—ready-to-drink coffee in a refrigerated carton. But it had to be heated up, and the foil-lined carton wasn’t microwave-safe, so the coffee had to be poured into another cup and then microwaved, making it no more convenient than coffee-pot coffee or instant coffee. Maxwell House Brewed Coffee lasted less than a year in stores.
FLAKING OUT
In 1998 Kellogg’s noticed increased sales for fast-food breakfast items and wanted to get in on it the action. So they introduced Cereal Mates: a package that contained a single-serving box of cereal, a small carton of milk, and a spoon—perfect for a break-fast-on-the-go. Only problem: Grocers didn’t know know where to place it in the store. The milk didn’t need refrigeration, but if they put it in the cereal aisle, consumers might be repulsed by the idea of nonrefrigerated milk. And the dairy case seemed wrong because shoppers wouldn’t look for cereal there. Ultimately, Kellogg’s put Cereal Mates in dairy cases and then spent $30 million on advertising to tell people to “look in the milk section” for the product. It didn’t work; Cereal Mates didn’t last a year. But what ultimately did in this “convenience food” wasn’t its placement. It wasn’t really convenient: You can’t eat a bowl of cereal while you’re driving to work, like you can a Pop Tart or an energy bar.
SUNDAE WORST
In 1986 the Johnston Company, a Milwaukee ice-cream topping maker, introduced the Hot Scoop—a hot fudge sundae that was designed to be microwaved for 30 seconds. The ice cream was supposed to stay cold while the fudge heated up, thanks to a strategically placed heat-reflecting lining in the package. It didn’t quite work—microwaves of the ’80s were still full of kinks and their power and quality varied greatly by brand. The end result was that the fudge and ice cream both ended up tepid, instead of hot and cold. The product disappeared from stores by the end of the year. Amazingly, another company, Steve’s Ice Cream, licensed the technology in 1987. Its microwaveable ice-cream sundaes were no more successful than Johnston’s.
It’s a rat race (guess which rats are winning): If the minimum wage had risen as fast as the salaries of CEOs, the lowest-paid worker would make $23 per hour.
INTERNUTS
When General Magic launched WebTV in 1995, it was predicted to be the technology that would launch the “Information Superhighway,” combining TV and the burgeoning World Wide Web into an entertainment juggernaut. Consumers wouldn’t have to buy a $1,500 computer to surf the
FULL CIRCLE
One year after Al Shamshoon bit the dust, the first episode of Freej aired in the same coveted time slot—the first night of Ramadan. Unlike Al Shamshoon, Freej, the Arab world’s first 3-D animated series, was a hit from the very start. By the time the second season of Freej aired the following year, half of all television viewers in the UAE were tuning in to watch the show. Stay tuned: You may be watching one of these days, too: In 2009 Hareb entered into talks with American media companies to bring his show to the United States. (Until then, you can look for clips on YouTube.)
Mississippi’s largest “crop”: catfish—the state produces 150,000 tons a year.
PRODUCT FLOPS
Don’t try to make your product too new or too improved…or nobody will know what to do with it .
N OT-SO-INSTANT COFFEE
Since the 1960s, there have been two ways that most Americans make coffee at home: 1) a standard Mr. Coffee-style coffee maker, and 2) adding hot water to “instant coffee” in a cup. The first way takes about five minutes, and the second takes about three. In 1990 Maxwell House came up with a third option: Maxwell House Brewed Coffee—ready-to-drink coffee in a refrigerated carton. But it had to be heated up, and the foil-lined carton wasn’t microwave-safe, so the coffee had to be poured into another cup and then microwaved, making it no more convenient than coffee-pot coffee or instant coffee. Maxwell House Brewed Coffee lasted less than a year in stores.
FLAKING OUT
In 1998 Kellogg’s noticed increased sales for fast-food breakfast items and wanted to get in on it the action. So they introduced Cereal Mates: a package that contained a single-serving box of cereal, a small carton of milk, and a spoon—perfect for a break-fast-on-the-go. Only problem: Grocers didn’t know know where to place it in the store. The milk didn’t need refrigeration, but if they put it in the cereal aisle, consumers might be repulsed by the idea of nonrefrigerated milk. And the dairy case seemed wrong because shoppers wouldn’t look for cereal there. Ultimately, Kellogg’s put Cereal Mates in dairy cases and then spent $30 million on advertising to tell people to “look in the milk section” for the product. It didn’t work; Cereal Mates didn’t last a year. But what ultimately did in this “convenience food” wasn’t its placement. It wasn’t really convenient: You can’t eat a bowl of cereal while you’re driving to work, like you can a Pop Tart or an energy bar.
SUNDAE WORST
In 1986 the Johnston Company, a Milwaukee ice-cream topping maker, introduced the Hot Scoop—a hot fudge sundae that was designed to be microwaved for 30 seconds. The ice cream was supposed to stay cold while the fudge heated up, thanks to a strategically placed heat-reflecting lining in the package. It didn’t quite work—microwaves of the ’80s were still full of kinks and their power and quality varied greatly by brand. The end result was that the fudge and ice cream both ended up tepid, instead of hot and cold. The product disappeared from stores by the end of the year. Amazingly, another company, Steve’s Ice Cream, licensed the technology in 1987. Its microwaveable ice-cream sundaes were no more successful than Johnston’s.
It’s a rat race (guess which rats are winning): If the minimum wage had risen as fast as the salaries of CEOs, the lowest-paid worker would make $23 per hour.
INTERNUTS
When General Magic launched WebTV in 1995, it was predicted to be the technology that would launch the “Information Superhighway,” combining TV and the burgeoning World Wide Web into an entertainment juggernaut. Consumers wouldn’t have to buy a $1,500 computer to surf the
Similar Books
