No, we’re not talking about Presidential politics or economic meltdowns.  We’ll leave that for the straight news.  What’s interesting to note is that according to a recent study by by Boston public relations company Schneider Associates; Mintel International, the London division of Chicago research company Mintel; and Chicago research company Information Resources Inc., 2008 was so full of distractions that not many new products or innovations are on the tops of consumers’ minds.

Check out the video summary of the study here.

In fact, only 69 percent of survey respondents could not remember a single new product launched during the year.

The most memorable new product of 2008 – the Wii Fit – was recalled by only 22 percent of respondents in aided recall.  A summary of the study and what the researchers took away from it can be found on the Quirk’s Research web site (here).

Given a list of 50 new product launches from 2008 (aided recall), people most commonly remembered the following:

1. Nintendo Wii Fit (recalled by 22%)
2. iPod Touch (16%)
3. Bud Light Lime (15%)
4. McDonald’s Southern Style Chicken Biscuit & Sandwich (14%)
5. Kraft Mac & Cheese Crackers (13%)
6. KY Yours + Mine Couples Lubricant (12%)
7. Gatorade G2, Yoplait Fiber One (11%, two-way tie)
8. MacBook Air, Rock Band, Burger King Apple Fries, Neosporin Neo To Go!, Kraft Bagel-fuls (8%, five-way tie)

And, of course, there’s no rationale as to what qualified a new product as being “worthy” of being on the list.  Still, I find it odd that the Kraft Mac & Cheese Crackers – something we identified as a brand extension “gone bad” – ended up beating the MacBook Air (so thin you could stick it in an envelope).  It’s just not fair.

Then again, that crazy lady with all the cats was ahead of me at the polls when I voted in November – I guess “fair” is a subjective term after all.

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