My son and I had a date night tonight to celebrate his completion of the book The Tale of Despereaux. We headed for McDonald's for dessert off of the dollar menu and a rousing match of putt-putt golf on the table game station. I indulged in a "snack-size" Reese's McFlurry for only $1.69. The advertising poster showed a carefully manicured hand cradling the "mini" McFlurry, and promised a harmless degree of indulgence. Half-way through, I realized I had been duped by the term "snack-size", as the treat was sizeable and as calorie-laden as anything.
Marketing is a curious thing. Sizes are determined more by what sells than by the actual size of what they label. For example, if women who wear size 14 will happily purchase a well-fitting pair of size 12 jeans, why not call those jeans 12 Stretch? I have friends who are a true size 4, but now have to look for a size 2 or even 0, to get a good fit. They haven't changed, the sizes have. The illusion of thinness sells more than the reality of inches, I guess. Or if spending an inordinate amount of money for a "small" coffee brings people to their senses, why not label the cups Tall, Venti and Grande? 100 calorie mini bites of lite oreos and cheese nips are marketed by offering smaller amounts (in fact, you pay more for packages that offer less), while BK drive-through attendants are quick to offer to "biggie size" Big Angus Burger meal deals. Pizza chains seem to avoid offering small sizes. It's 3 mediums for 5$ each. Or any large for $10, or an Xtra large for whatever, but a curiously absent small-sized offer. Maybe it's because when you are ordering pizza, you've given up the illusion of being on a diet.
Any size discrepancies or funky marketing ploys you've discovered?
1 comment:
YES. Many environmentally and socially conscious companies that were originally locally and individually owned have been bought up by large impersonal corporations. But they don't tell you that.
For example, Tom's of Maine is now owned by Colgate. Ben & Jerry's was bought by Unilever. Burt's Bees is now owned by Clorox. Naked Juice is owned by Pepsi. It goes on and on.
Yet nowhere on the package does it tell you who the real company owner is. Why? Because people who buy Naked Juice don't want to support Pepsi, and people who buy Burt's Bees don't want to support Clorox. But they are, because that's who owns the company.
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