When will BRANDS learn to embrace the true perception of their BRANDS?

BevNET reported on March 24th that Red Bull will be launching a brand extension... Cola. Natural Cola. With only 32 mg of caffeine, it will focus on flavor and not on buzz.

This doesn't seem like a natural extension of the brand... granted, they sell beverages in the same cooler as Coke and Pepsi, but people have always reached for them out of function... not because they wanted to feel like they were drinking a Smarties-flavored soda.

A better brand extension might have been, I dunno... caffeine pills. Caffeine patches. Caffeine gum. A machine that looks like a fan, but has little gloves on it to smack you on the face over and over to keep you awake.

Trying to compete with Coke and Pepsi will probably lead to failure... The best thing a brand with such a strong identity can do with its money is run with its public persona - no matter how ugly. Embrace it, poke fun at yourself, and above all, DON'T try to be something you're not.

Sorry, Red Bull... but we fail to see the possibility of ordering a nice, tall Red Bull Cola at Applebee's in the next few years. You might just go the way of Crystal Pepsi.