The 20 Biggest Product Flops in Business History

Money, meetings and market research all pointed the wrong way. Every one of these shipped, then quietly stopped shipping.

1

New Coke

Coca-Cola's 1985 reformulation, pulled after 79 days of customer revolt.

2

Crystal Pepsi

The clear cola of 1992 that looked like water and sold like neither.

3

Ford Edsel

Ford's heavily hyped 1958 car line, gone within three model years.

4

Microsoft Zune

The 2006 media player that arrived five years after the iPod and never caught it.

5

Apple Newton MessagePad

Apple's 1993 handheld, mocked for handwriting recognition it could not deliver.

6

Google Glass

The 2013 face-worn computer that made its owners socially radioactive.

7

Segway

The self-balancing scooter promised to reshape cities, mostly used by tour groups.

8

Sony Betamax

The better-looking tape format that lost the home-video war to VHS.

9

HD DVD

Toshiba's disc format, abandoned in 2008 once studios lined up behind Blu-ray.

10

Nintendo Virtual Boy

The 1995 red-on-black 3D console that gave players headaches and vanished in a year.

11

Juicero

A $400 connected juice press whose packets could be squeezed by hand.

12

Amazon Fire Phone

Amazon's 2014 smartphone, discounted to 99 cents within months of launch.

13

Colgate Kitchen Entrees

Frozen dinners from a toothpaste brand, an association shoppers could not unsee.

14

McDonald's Arch Deluxe

A 1996 burger marketed to grown-up palates after a reported nine-figure campaign.

15

Harley-Davidson Perfume

A 1990s fragrance line that asked bikers to smell like a lifestyle brand.

16

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

The 2016 flagship recalled worldwide after its batteries caught fire.

17

Microsoft Bob

A 1995 cartoon desktop meant to make Windows friendly, discontinued within a year.

18

Quibi

The short-form streaming service that burned through billions in about six months.

19

Pontiac Aztek

The 2001 crossover whose styling became a punchline before it became a collectible.

20

Google+

Google's answer to Facebook, shut down in 2019 after years of empty profiles.