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Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

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Re: Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

#11

Post by saurik »

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)".

Re: Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

#12

Post by cschmidt »

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.

Re: Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

#14

Post by jff »

saurik wrote: post #11

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…

I'm really happy someone else feels the same way about "beautiful". It's lost all meaning in this space, it might as well be "EXTREME" or some other marketing bullshit term.

Re: Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

#15

Post by breckinloggins »

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.

Re: Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

#16

Post by Zikes »

breckinloggins wrote: post #15

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…

In the context of phones in particular, Apple had a lot to do with "plastic" being conflated with "cheap" when they launched glass-back phones.

Re: Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

#17

Post by zachrose »

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.

Re: Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

#18

Post by breckinloggins »

Zikes wrote: post #16
breckinloggins wrote: post #15

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…

In the context of phones in particular, Apple had a lot to do with "plastic" being conflated with "cheap" when they launched glass-back phones.

I was also thinking much older. Growing up I would often hear something like "this is just a cheap plastic toy, it's not a real ".

Re: Unapologetically Plastic, Artisanal Buns

#20

Post by mrxd »

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.

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