There is a history of fans using the internet to rally for discontinued “brands” – but with limited success. Jericho fans bombarding the network with nuts to get a few more episodes. Similarly, Save Our Bluths sent banana baskets to Fox which may have contributed to the brilliant/low-rated Arrested Development getting another season, but at a reduced episode order and it was promptly canceled. Hopefully a similar fate is not in store for 30 Rock.
On the beverage front, Save Surge has been around for more than 5 years, but with no real response from Coca Cola, beyond the company trying to enlist these fans to support the launch of their very similar formulation, Vault.

So what holds these brand movements together? I think the Hydrox fans sum it up with their call to arms “Non-conformists don’t eat Oreos“. These challenger brands have an element of delicious discovery and make the users feel independent and in-the-know for supporting them and spreading the word. If the brands had mass popularity, they wouldn’t need movements in the first place! The challenge to marketers is to help all brands – not just those headed toward the dustbin – to instill customers with those same feelings of smart individuality or discovered knowledge that they will be inspired to pass along.