When Good Brands Make Bad Products: Inside the Museum of Failure

From Apple Newton to Olestra, this traveling exhibit spotlights innovation's messy results

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Perfection is out. We want our heroes flawed, our romantic comedies realistic and our images un-retouched

But does this mean the world’s biggest brands are ready for a traveling exhibit called the Museum of Failure that showcases their unloved products?

“No,” laughed Samuel West, the project’s founder and an organizational psychologist by trade. “Nobody wanted to have anything to do with this.”

Despite his extensive network of innovation directors, West couldn’t get a single brand onboard when he launched the museum in 2017 in Sweden.

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This story first appeared in the March 2023 issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.