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March 28, 2007
Today’s Simplicity Trend, Not So Simple?
Today’s trend toward simplicity has not merely taken hold, for today’s time-starved consumer, it grips the very vitals of our being.
Evidence is all around us. Popular magazine and book titles certainly support the theory. Simply look to your local newsstand for publications like:
- Real Simple
- Simple Scrapbooks
- Simple Living
- Simple & Delicious
And a simple sampling of recent book titles would reveal a spectrum of simplicity:
- From Voluntary Simplicity to Compact Simplicity
- From Rational Simplicity to Radical Simplicity
- From Deep Simplicity to Profound Simplicity
But a society is also judged by what it eats, and nowhere is the simple trend more revealing than in the rash of new supermarket brand names containing the word simple. I’ll mention just a few...
- Simple Harvest and So Simple - Quaker cereals
- Simple Selections - ConAgra frozen meals
- Simple Touch and Simple Measures - flavored oils from Smuckers
- Simple Delights - snack bars
- Simple Snacks - from Tree of Life
- Simple Recipe - Gerber
- Pure & Simple - yogurt from Yoplait
- Simplesse - Nutrasweet
- Simple Traditions - Butterball
- Simple Sensations - seafood
- Pure and Simple - meat
- Simple Solutions - P&G
- Simple Indulgence - Cadbury Adams
And very recently, Sara Lee announced its new Simple Sweets line of individual serve frozen pies targeted at empty nesters who want to eliminate leftovers. Yes, a single serve pie does make our life easier, but do we really need another name with simple in it, making the grocery aisle even more complicated to navigate?
The answer is not so simple.
Technorati Tags: Sara Lee, Simple Sweets, Product Naming, Naming Company, Linguistics, Simplicity, Food Trends
Posted by Diane Prange at March 28, 2007 11:30 AM
Posted to Brand Naming
| Food
| Linguistics
| Naming
| Product Naming
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Though "simple" seems on its way to becoming oversaturated in the market, I'm happy to see its increasing use. I write a weekly blog for women looking for simplicity (but not the extreme kind; just simplicity within the lives they already have) at www.smartsimplewoman.typepad.com, and the response to my posts from busy women who need direction, and the worldwide trend toward simplifying (even if it's in a commercial sense) is great to see. It seems simple living isn't the minority position in pursuing the Great American Dream anymore.