New And Improved, I think

My shopping excursions lately have me convinced that this must be the brave new world I hear about. It's because I see more and more items labeled as "new" or "new and improved". But are those packages of consumer goods really new or new and improved? How can something be both new and improved? It does not follow. If the manufacturer makes the toothpaste, for example, an improved version it's not new. Nor is it new and improved. It would be simply "improved".

Usually, the maker of the new and improved product has an exclamation  mark after "NEW" (always in large case type). They seem more excited about it than we consumers who have to pay more for whatever is marked as "new" or new and improved". Maybe the higher prices are the only new and improved  (but only for the seller's benefit) thing about it.

But then, manufacturers have a different interpretation of what is new, than do we.  I wonder if that new shampoo is so good, was the old version so bad? I feel like a sucker for having bought the product before the new released version. Maybe I should ask for a refund for all the old stuff I bought. Hmmmm I suspect there is nothing really new about the new releases except a need for that price increase and for the need to pretend that the company is working hard to improve the junk they sell us.

One trick manufacturers get way with is writing "New And Improved" on their products when they want to reduce the size of the product in order to save manufacturing costs. They figure, and they are right, that when we see the new and improved banner that we will pay more for the item, even if we take the time to notice we are getting less of the product content.

New and improved” is the easiest and lamest of marketing claims. Marketers use it to create new spin on an old brand or to pretend the old brand is different, but it's often not much more than label deep. I say that if a product really is new or improved we will see it when we consumer it. Just show us, don't tell us.