A New Way to Look at New

A New Way to Look at New

The most powerful words in advertising: new and free. Ads use ‘free’ every day: Buy one get one free. Stay seven nights get the eighth night free. For marketers, free is forever.

‘New’ is a different story. No one knows how ‘new’ began but Wikipedia helps, “British newspapers in the 1850’s and 1860’s appealed to the increasingly affluent middle-class that sought out a variety of new products. The advertisements announced new health remedies as well as fresh foods and beverages.”‘New’ has changed. There’s a new, ‘new’. It’s called disposable. Though they may feel like opposites, they are one and the same.

What do you do after you dispose of something? You bring out a replacement that’s new and fresh and glowing out of the box. Disposable diapers, disposable tableware, disposable contact lens, even disposable underwear that’s edible, the list grows. Disposable has a long history. Beginning in early 20th century, King Camp Gillette invented the disposable razor blade. According to a new book called, Fifty Inventions that Shaped the Modern Economy, http://timharford.com/books/50things/“This eventually led to the model of charging for an item, then requiring customers to pay endlessly to keep it working.” Today, Keurig’s disposable coffee pod brings us fresh, new coffee on demand. And we pay over and over again.

Damien Harvey/ dhg.world




To view or add a comment, sign in

Insights from the community

Explore topics