As I was getting ready for work this morning I got to thinking about the maskera I had recently purchased.  I remember scanning at least 8 or 10 different ones before I made my selection and what I determined is that all of them are basically designed to do the very same thing.  The packaging might suggest that one will lengthen your lashes while another will thicken them and yet another claims that it contains a miraculous component that will actually help you to grow longer, thicker lashes of your very own!  A statement like that almost matches the excitement my friend and I got when we were 7 years old and we managed to scrounge up enough money to send away for the seeds to grow our very own family of sea monkeys!!!

The monkeys and the maskera got me thinking about the terminology marketing strategists use to excite us and create a feeling of need for the all the products they continue to send off to manufacturers that eventually fill warehouses and store shelves we browse every time we run out of something.  I’m not sure I will ever understand the idea behind approximately 37 assorted maskeras or 130 different kinds of shampoo or several different styles of “zippers” on zip-loc bags nor will I ever fully comprehend the rather large selection of toilet paper.  Have you ever thought about the end result of your toilet paper purchase?  It’s something you will never see again once it’s used so I sometimes find myself wondering if flowers embossed on it are all that necessary and does it really have to be as thick as the fabric you would use to reupholster your couch?  There is one brand I’ve seen that literally feels like thick, high quality flannel and I have often times entertained the idea of making something out of it rather than clean my under carriage and watch it swirl it’s way into the great beyond!

As far as all of the mechanical things we use, whether it’s an appliance or tool of some kind, I’m sure you’ve noticed there is almost nothing “built to last” anymore.  The part of this I find so contradictory is that we are encouraged to make our environment more “green” and there is a lot of recycling happening but I’ve also heard people say it’s cheaper to buy a new printer rather than purchase ink cartridges for the printer they already have.  Am I the only one that finds this rather odd?

I figured out quite some time ago that we should all steer clear of anything that states it’s “New and Improved!”  For starters, if it’s new, it can’t be improved upon yet.  If it’s an old product they have decided to re-invent, they should not be using the word “New.”  When this happens “New” is code for “Let’s convince our customers to pay more for less!”  What they don’t want you to notice is that they’ve reduced the size of the box  or packaging so less of the same great product fits in it and then they offer it to you at a “New” low price for a limited time.  What they don’t tell you is that the “New” low price is the old price you were paying for the product that used to come in a bigger box or larger package.   “Improved” is a word that should never be used to sell products that have been on the market for years.  “Improved” is code for “We’ve found a way to create the products you have used for years and dearly love with materials that cost us a lot less so we can charge you more because we’ve made it clear that we’ve improved it which will convince you it’s going to work better when in fact it’s going to be a total and complete waste of your hard earned money.”

I suppose there is really nothing we can do to change the way our products are created or re-created.  It’s something that has gone on for years and the chances of it changing are almost as likely as the chances of having your Sea Monkeys look anything like they did on the advertisement you saw posted in the magazine that convinced you to order.  Afterall, that advertising was created by a marketing strategist that would eventually have grandchildren doing as good of a job as he did back in the day!