EPIC FAIL: Product Design

[jcrawford]

I have had this product since Easter and just now got around to writing about it because it was kicking around the house and was forgotten about.

However I thought I would start some conversation with this.

Epic Failure: Product Design

I am not sure how that made it past the brainstorm session, never-mind actually out the door to retailers. Mind you this was in the CANDY isle of Wal-Mart during the Easter Holiday.

[Rusty the Scoob]

It's for kids whose mothers caught them swearing during lent.

[ThisBitch]

Saying that's a fail in product design is like saying that if Walmart put the real cell phones where the candy filled ones were supposed to be, its a product design flaw of cell phones.

Its Walmart's fuckup for putting them there and not in the HBA section. You might be shocked to know this, but the people that work at Walmart don't generally have college degrees or much measurable amount of intelligence.

Side note: Raise your hand if you're surprised jcrawford has his own blog.

[Jaynnus]

Side note: Raise your hand if you're surprised jcrawford has his own blog.

***puts hands in pockets***

It says 'soap' right on the front....if some parent gives this to a kid outside of the tub they failed...not the product.

If I put a pop-tart in my coffee pot did the makers of Pop-tarts fail?

[jcrawford]

Ok I expected a bit of this from you guys but think about something.

What stops an 8 year old from buying the product thinking it is candy?

I understand there is some humor in making some products like this but IMO when it comes to kids products manufacturers should not make something look edible when it is not. Just my opinion though

As for the issue about Wal-Mart putting it out, yep it is partially their fault, I understand the employees do not have college degrees but that does not mean they are ALL idiots. These days it doesn't take a college degree to prove your smart, all it takes is some dedication and self-discipline to learn on your own.

With that in mind if it did not look like a lollipop Wal-Mart would not have put it with the candy.

Side Note: Raise your hand if you knew ThisBitch would have something negative to say in response to anything I post.

[jcrawford]

***puts hands in pockets***

It says 'soap' right on the front....if some parent gives this to a kid outside of the tub they failed...not the product.

If I put a pop-tart in my coffee pot did the makers of Pop-tarts fail?

Both valid points but the fact is the soap lollipop was found in the candy isle and it looks like a lollipop. Now if Pop-tarts started manufacturing them to look like coffee filters and they were in the coffe-pot isle why would you read the fine print that says they are not coffee filters?

I guess you'd have to see this item in person to really understand. The print is small and it was with candy. What's the saying if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck then it must be a duck.... Not in this case.

I caught this but it does make me wonder how many parents did not notice it.

[ThisBitch]

Ok I expected a bit of this from you guys but think about something.

What stops an 8 year old from buying the product thinking it is candy?

I understand there is some humor in making some products like this but IMO when it comes to kids products manufacturers should not make something look edible when it is not. Just my opinion though

As for the issue about Wal-Mart putting it out, yep it is partially their fault, I understand the employees do not have college degrees but that does not mean they are ALL idiots. These days it doesn't take a college degree to prove your smart, all it takes is some dedication and self-discipline to learn on your own.

With that in mind if it did not look like a lollipop Wal-Mart would not have put it with the candy.

Side Note: Raise your hand if you knew ThisBitch would have something negative to say in response to anything I post.

So what's the worst case scenario in this situation? You really think a kid's going to eat an entire lolipop of soap? And what if he does? Diarrhea for a week and a lesson learned. I really don't get what the issue is.

Lots of products are made to look like other products. In fact, there's a condom company that makes condoms that look like the strips of lolipops they used to have at the doctor's office. If Walmart put those in the candy aisle, its not that condom manufacturer's fault.

[jcrawford]

So what's the worst case scenario in this situation? You really think a kid's going to eat an entire lolipop of soap? And what if he does? Diarrhea for a week and a lesson learned. I really don't get what the issue is.

Lots of products are made to look like other products. In fact, there's a condom company that makes condoms that look like the strips of lolipops they used to have at the doctor's office. If Walmart put those in the candy aisle, its not that condom manufacturer's fault.

Again adult products I find some humor in that because if an adult does something stupid like that it's their own fault. A child on the other hand knows no better.

Yes you are right there are no long term effects that I know of. But do you know all the chemicals in this soap? I don't and some soaps state to contact poison centers if ingested.... Now that I find humor in, having to put a disclaimer like that on products like soap because they are meant for adults to be purchasing, they are stupid if they think they can drink/eat it.

[ThisBitch]

Again adult products I find some humor in that because if an adult does something stupid like that it's their own fault. A child on the other hand knows no better.

Yes you are right there are no long term effects that I know of. But do you know all the chemicals in this soap? I don't and some soaps state to contact poison centers if ingested.... Now that I find humor in, having to put a disclaimer like that on products like soap because they are meant for adults to be purchasing, they are stupid if they think they can drink/eat it.

I drank an entire bottle of shampoo when I was 3. No idea why, I don't remember it. My mom said I had diarrhea for a few days, some of which even had bubbles in it. Other than that I was fine.

[1/2pint]

the lolipop is a promo from a movie

http://www.iwantcandy.com/

[OreoGaborio]

I drank an entire bottle of shampoo when I was 3.

WITH YOUR FILTHY MOUTH?!?!?!

[ThisBitch]

WITH YOUR FILTHY MOUTH?!?!?!

I haven't a clue what you're talking about

[jcrawford]

the lolipop is a promo from a movie

http://www.iwantcandy.com/

yep a kids movie

[Jaynnus]

It is fucking soap...not a lolipop made from arsenic.

[j4eric]

all i can say is, that was a stupid idea making soap to look like candy....where is the market of this?

[DucDave]

Dumb product.

Dumb product placement if it was in the candy aisle.

(Wonder where it was made....?)

Not the sort of thing I can get worked up about though.

[CBR929RE]

the bigger issue with the placement is did the store put it where it was supposed to be put. They should have a planogram that tells them exactly where to put each item. If the store employee put it in the wrong place that's one thing. You can't blame a Walmart store employee for being dumb. If the person who entered its space into the planogram software put it in the wrong place then there's a problem and that retard needs to learn to read.

[jcrawford]

the bigger issue with the placement is did the store put it where it was supposed to be put. They should have a planogram that tells them exactly where to put each item. If the store employee put it in the wrong place that's one thing. You can't blame a Walmart store employee for being dumb. If the person who entered its space into the planogram software put it in the wrong place then there's a problem and that retard needs to learn to read.

Great question and which I don't have an answer for as I didn't inquire about the planogram location.

[Chippertheripper]

I think the real issue here, for me anyway, is why the Christ would you buy it to begin with? You parted with your own $ for something largely useless, just to whine about it on the webz?
I whine a bunch on the webz for my own satisfaction and amusement, but I can't recall ever spending money needlessly to do so.
Oh, and walmart sux.
I know you're kind of sensitive, so I won't dig any harder.

[jcrawford]

I think the real issue here, for me anyway, is why the Christ would you buy it to begin with? You parted with your own $ for something largely useless, just to whine about it on the webz?
I whine a bunch on the webz for my own satisfaction and amusement, but I can't recall ever spending money needlessly to do so.
Oh, and walmart sux.
I know you're kind of sensitive, so I won't dig any harder.

lol not taking anything but a laugh from any of the comments so don't worry

As for me spending my money on it, yep I did. It was around $1-3 so I didn't mind buying it for the laughs myself. I have shown it to many people and they are all surprised any product was manufactured like that. That's why I bought it. Had it been expensive I would not have parted ways with the money.

I also never stated I was the smartest with my money, in-fact if I am honest I am very bad with money. I am working on that though

[slammp]

Honestly the first question that comes to mind outside of the mild interest this story generated is why you felt the need, or extreme self worth, to take the time to create a blog just to complain about this. What do you do for a living? clearly you have too much time on your hands and need a new hobby.

[jcrawford]

I wrote about it because I thought it was interesting. And yes through out the day I do get free time on my hands, it happens when you work 7-7.

To answer your question on what I do I am a Sr. Software Engineer by title but really the title is inaccurate because I am a Sr. Web Application Developer.

Not sure why companies do not generally separate the two from each-other.

[Awesome]

We should probably have a research board put together, federally funded of course, then pay some people to debate the results, then pay some people to debate creating a law about it, then pay some people to review the law for it while adding in clauses for tax breaks for large manufacturers that didn't make soap lollipops and award some lost business stimulus to both the soap and the candy industries.

[jcrawford]

You guys are reading WAY too far into this. I thought it was funny and thought it was a failure when it came to product design. Not once did I say anything about how this needs an investigation or anything like that.

Stop reading between the lines and read what the typing states

[Jaynnus]

So are those candy lips a product design fail...I mean someone might think they are actual lips.

What about those soap crayons....what if, god forbid, someone tried to draw with them on paper????

How about candy cigarettes...someone could start a fire if they tried to light one...sugar burns hot you know.

And what about those tape dispenses that look like shoes....OMG someone could try to wear the tape dispenser. Or the pens that look like lipstick....the world would end of someone put ink on their lips.

You know those markers that smell like fruit...OMG....someone might sniff it! Yikes.