Clearly Canadian is Making a Comeback

Old brand names do not die, they sometimes get revived.  I am going to be dating myself, but I remember when I was in college and a new type of sparkling water hit the markets.  It was Clearly Canadian and came in cool sounding flavors like "Orchard Peach" and "Western Loganberry."  Even the soft blue bottle was pleasing: 

Unfortunately for Clearly Canadian, it disappeared among the barrage of flavored water drinks sometime in the early 2000s.  An investor is going to retread the brand.  Apparently, there is a group of entrepreneurs who dig up old brands, purchase the name, and then attempt to cash in on the brands.  Apparently, these entrepreneurs hope to cash in on the growing nostalgia from us older folk longing for the items of our youth.  Instead of creating a brand from scratch these guys pay a small fee to the United States Patent and Trademark Office and shake the rust off of these brands which are already familiar to millions of potential customers. 

Of course, this strategy is not without risk.  Oftentimes the prior owner of the trademark may not want someone else to use the mark.  Thus, if you think you may want to relive a part of your youth by bringing a brand back to life, it would be good to research the brand's prior owner, and possibly, negotiate with the owner to avoid a costly lawsuit. 

In addition, it is not enough to sell to those of us who may remember Clearly Canadian fondly.  A "trademark rebooter" will also need to bring the product and the brand into the here and now by making it palatable to today's consumers.