Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

If you want an amazing way to blow an afternoon, read some of the abstracts published in the "Journal of Consumer Research" (http://www.ejcr.org/)

It's an absolutely fascinating way to see how little turns of phrase, naming, and packaging can influence our perception. There are some absolute classics that back up this article showing that giving exotic names to jelly beans led them to be picked more often, even though they tasted the same e.g. Orange vs. Blood Orange.

I've had phones that were apologetically plastic. They had a metallic finish that wore off to reveal the bone-colored ABS underneath.

"Unapologetic" here corresponds to the notion that materials shouldn't imitate other materials, a practice that gained steam during the industrial revolution and irked the Modernists something awful.

The importance of this message cannot be overstated.

To put it another way:

The Words you use to convince someone are more important than the message itself.

I've seen people stab themselves in the back (and lose out) because they didn't pay enough attention to the words they used.

I was super interested in how Apple was going to sell the 5c for this exact reason, I use a plastic phone that doesn't feel too cheap (the lumia 521) but I think of it as the crummiest phone on the market because of the plastic (though it's actually really durable, I've basically launched it tons of times and like a good nokia it will just come apart- distributing the force evenly) So Apple's "Unapologetic" is a really important marketing concept.

Some other fun examples: soft Corinthian leather, Lucky Strike ("It's toasted!"). These fit alongside Madagascar vanilla and artisanal hamburger buns. But "unapologetically plastic" clearly doesn't.

The pattern we should look for is a modifier that creates the appearance of a nonexistent competitive difference. Not a regular bun, an artisanal bun. Not regular vanilla, Madagascar vanilla.

So... not regular plastic, but unapologetic plastic? Apple wants us to believe that this plastic is special because it doesn't apologize? That doesn't even make sense.

It's clear that "unapologetically plastic" means that Apple is unapologetic, proud that the 5c is made of plastic. They want us to believe that this is not a cheap knockoff iPhone, despite being made of plastic, and that's more about affirming their brand values than anything else.

Have you ever had a really, really good hamburger bun that set the burger apart from almost any other burger you've ever eaten?

If you have, why not describe it as "artisanal"? Some bread really is good enough to warrant a special description.

Likewise, the iPhone 5c is a really, really nice plastic object. I know next to nothing about plastics, but I do know that the 5c is set apart from, say, this Handspring Visor that's (for some reason) on my desk.

Words affect people deeply, but they don't affect everyone the same. Some people, myself included, hear certain words like this, and get an emotionally strong negative "that's bullshit, you added that word to manipulate me, and now I like you and your product less for it" reaction. For me it hits really hard when I see people use the word "beautiful" to describe a programming tool or API: some people eat that term up, nearly looking for it as a defining characteristic, whereas when I see it I generally no longer trust anything else you have to say about your product. If the target market for your product includes a lot of people who know they are being pandered to and generally dislike it, you have to be really careful to actively avoid these kinds of words.

I'd therefore feel a better statement to make (than waxing poetically about words like "artisanal", which I know turned off budget-conscious friends of mine as "probably too rich for my blood" despite meaning little in and of itself, due to associated genre effects) is more "don't underestimate the power of a wording change: test different adjectives and see what resonates best with your audience, whether via live A/B testing or using focus groups, and be prepared for the idea that you may have to split your message and target different sub-groups separately, potentially even splitting your brand entirely (something we tend to not see software companies do much, even though old school product companies like detergent or cereal do it constantly)".

Well I only eat Artisan Tostitos because I like to support small businesses like FritoLay.

I think this has something to do with the word "cheap" being placed in front of "plastic" so often that it stopped modifying "plastic" and just became part of it. When that happens, you need a pretty strong adjective to reset the connotation. "Unapologetically" seems to fit the bill.

It works with buns, too. "Go grab some hamburger buns" sounds Forth of July Rainbo Bread to me. "Pick up some artisan buns" resets that.

Well, that's how it works in my mind at least; your mind may vary.

Ive's comment about plastic reminded me of a conversation I had once with an architect. He said that one of his dreams was to have a client who wanted him to do an vinyl siding house. He normally did things in very tasteful wood. However, he wanted the chance to explore the possibilities of what you could do with vinyl.

They need to try harder. 3 times in the last week when I've told people I'm thinking of upgrading my iPhone(4s) they're said "Are you going to get the real one or that plastic thing?" or something to that effect.

Its going to be an uphill battle.

Reminds me of "It's Toasted" on Mad Men (based on a real campaign) https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=E0...

In other news, copywriting is a valuable skill when selling a product.

Perhaps this strategy works great on the general populous and market, but I already recognize this... advertisement trope, McDonald's has been using it for years.

When are marketers going to stop trying to mislead their customers and realize that people in general aren't stupid, just busy? Oh wait, if we told our customers the truth, we'd have to live with a real market, not an inflated one, and everyone knows an inflated market is best.