• The New York Times, Thursday, September 28, 2006 12:45 PM

Yet another entrepreneur will attempt to revive the Bromo Seltzer brand, this time with a rousing burp. Tower Laboratories, Essex, Conn., is introducing a TV campaign next week that will feature a "Bromo burp" as a mnemonic device it hopes will become a catch phrase for the effervescent antacid and analgesic. Tower recently bought the brand, which dates back to 1888, from Newmark Laboratories. In its heyday, it was manufactured by Warner-Lambert, creators of Listerine. To appeal to contemporary consumers, the traditional Bromo Seltzer bottle containing the product in granulated form has been replaced with packets in packages. Bromo Seltzer is among scores of consumer products known as ghost brands or orphan brands because they were once formidable powerhouses in their categories, but were forgotten or neglected by their owners. Recently, owners of many ghost brands have been selling or licensing them to smaller, more entrepreneurial marketers that hope to revive them through a combination of advertising, price promotions and public relations. "It's hit and miss; you might get one out of four to work," says Howard Draft, chairman and chief executive of Draft in Chicago.

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