In 1979, Clairol thought that a yogurt shampoo was just what the American consumer wanted. They assumed that the general public readily understood yogurt’s purported hair benefits, but apparently they didn’t. It turned out that the company had grossly miscalculated, and Touch of Yogurt Shampoo quickly became one of the highest profile product flops of all time. Many consumers were apparently confused as to what they had bought, as there were reported cases of people eating the shampoo and getting sick. Perhaps Clairol should have known better. After all, the yogurt shampoo failure came only a few years after another failed Clairol shampoo called Touch of Buttermilk. It received little fanfare and struggled because consumers were confused. Clearly, Clairol never heard of the famous quote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
