News Analysis: Diageo dealt harsh NPD lesson.(new product development)(Brief article)

Diageo has found out the hard way that success relies on more than a hefty ad campaign.

Diageo's new product development strategy looks to be in tatters. Last week it announced that it was to withdraw fruit-based alcoholic drink Quinn's less than a year after its pounds 8.5m launch. It had been the company's biggest in five years, and included a high-profile ad campaign by Mother.

It has also pulled two other ready-to-drink (RTD) brands: bourbon-based Slate 20, and Archers Vea, a low-sugar variant of its peach schnapps brand. The latter was launched in 2005, backed by a pounds 4m campaign.

The paring back does not end there. Plans to launch a cider brand, Cashel's Extra Smooth, have also been axed - a decision that has raised a few eyebrows, at a time when the flourishing cider …