Is it Trivia or Nostalgia

Earlier today I came a cross an email in my inbox with some very interesting trivia in it. The message was about marketing, but I found it extremely thought provoking. Here is a peek at what I mean:
Just 25 years ago there were,

- only 4 running shoe styles to choose from, today there are 285. Do we run more or just think we need more choices, are our feet different - softer perhaps - or are we trying to make a fashion statement while we try to stay fit - if we indeed plan to actually run in these running shoes.

- 17 over the counter pain relievers, today there are 141. Are we in more pain or just not able to deal with things as well as our ancestors 25 years ago? What does this say about our ability to cope with the daily pressures. Were we better off fighting wild animals, and having to work harder for what we had then we are now? Are we hypochondriacs taking a pill for every ill or perceived ill?

- 20 soft drink brands, today there are 87. Well okay, we are fickle. We need more choices? The market says people are not lemmings and therefore want more choices to pick from? I should think 20 soft drinks Would be enough - after you have Coke, diet coke, Pepsi cola and diet Pepsi - maybe Mountain Dew and Root beer in both diet and regular. What else do you need? Doesn't that cover all the flavors? Oh sweet tooth 7-UP perhaps...Orange of some sort -- okay I guess there are enough people with diverse enough tastes we may need 40 but 87?....Come on!

- 4 types of milk, today there are over 30. There is white milk and chocolate milk--so we have to lighten it up a bit for some -- but 30 ways to drink your milk? Are we becoming a nation of spoiled brats who have to have everything our way - we have to have it DIFFERENT from anyone else, so we keep inventing the wheel. Guess what folks, it's still round, and it's still milk no matter how we try to disguise it.

- 13 choices on a McDonald's menu, today there are 53. I won't even touch this one - Kangaroo is enough - I prefer real beef.

- 12 major dental floss brands, today there are 68. Excuse me? 68 brands of dental floss? Why? It's string, it's flavored sometimes--though I can't understand why--you've supposedly just brushed your teeth with a flavored toothpaste and rinsed with a flavored mouth wash - why do you need flavored dental floss or sixty some choices of the stuff.

Do they only make one type of Duct tape? There must be a reason - you don't mess with a good thing. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

I'm all for freedom of choice, but this borders on, no this IS overload.
And of course that is only my humble opinion and you are allowed to choose to move on to the next blog or respond here before you move on = ). Thanks for visiting.
Billie
http://www.billiewilliams.com
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