Cheerful products will brighten up your awful, recessionary life
Posted on Wed Apr 1 2009
Who among us isn't looking for a playful diversion—a sliver of joy, even—in this world gone to hell in a handbasket? I know I am, which explains my purchase and repeat viewing of Role Models on DVD. (Don't judge me!) But could I really find comfort in Cheetos the size of Ping-Pong balls? A recent report in USA Today talks about the lengths to which marketers are going these days to make their products fun and uplifting. Apparently, it's working. Brands are finding that consumers will jump at the chance to buy Oreo cookies that work like straws, Cover Girl lipstick shaped like writing pens, and fried "pancake puppies" that are somehow classified as appetizers at Denny's. And, yes, ginormous Cheetos that came about after Frito-Lay hired some cultural anthropologists to study desk-jockey behavior. (So, why'd they dismiss the tennis-ball-sized Cheetos? That would've been genius). I think it may say more about the state of the mass media—go get a recession trend story, and make it happy!—than it does about what kind of light-hearted products appeal to consumers in tough times. Then again, I'm drawn to the cheap and cheery, and it's snack time. Here's what I have to say to my food: amuse me.
—Posted by T.L. Stanley
