Marketing Packaging.

Journal 02: "Symbols of Packaging"

What is in a package? According to Thomas Hine, the consumer is getting more than what is actually inside the package. From the cereal boxes found in the local supermarket, to the perfume bottles sold by Chanel, the shape and design of the packages are carefully calculated to promote consumption. "Packages serve as symbols both of their contents and a way of life."(Hine 73)

Once a person begins pushing that shopping cart, it matters little whether it is in a supermarket, a discount store, or a warehouse club. They become an active consumer, and are moving through an environment that has been made just for them. During the time spent shopping, thousands of products try to win attention and ultimately to make people believe in their promise. People share their homes with hundreds of packages-all chosen for one reason or another.

"Packages lead multiple lives."(Hine

"Get fat on Lorings Fat-ten-u and corpula foods"; ...

Norton Commando

[Portrait of Abe Most, Pete Ponti, Sid Jacobs, and...

71) It protects its contents from spoilage, makes for easy storage, and provides uniform measuring of contents. "By allowing brands to be created and standardized, it makes advertising meaningful and large-scale distribution possible."(Hine 73) For manufacturers, packaging is the crucial payoff to advertising or marketing campaigns. Attractive packaging is one of the primary ways people find the confidence to buy. "It can also give a powerful image to products and commodities that are in themselves characterless."(Hine 71) In many cases, colorful print advertisements, special store coupons, thirty-second television mini-dramas, or even a radio jingle can lure the shopper in. Packaging is the temptation that makes products possible.

The package is also a useful tool for the shopper. It is a tool for simplifying and speeding decisions. "Packages promise, and usually deliver, predictability."(Hine 71) People do not think about packages because they do not need...