Packaged Pleasures

Last updated
Packaged Pleasures
Packaged Pleasures Cover.jpg
AuthorGary S. Cross
Robert N. Proctor
LanguageEnglish
Publisher University of Chicago Press
Publication date
September 30, 2014
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint, e-book
Pages336
ISBN 9780226121277

Packaged Pleasures: How Technology and Marketing Revolutionized Desire is a 2014 nonfiction book written by Gary S. Cross and Robert N. Proctor and published by the University of Chicago Press. It analyzes the history of packaging through a number of case studies and how the rise of capitalism has led to rapid innovation and usage of packages throughout the world in order to satiate people's desire for goods.

Contents

Content

The book contains nine chapters, a notes section with references, and an index. Each chapter discusses a specific topic and aspect of packaging and production. The title's subject is addressed in an introductory chapter going over how consumer culture has led to transforming what were once "fleeting and sensory experiences" involving activities and even gifts and transformed them into "transmissible packets of pleasure" with our package-based society. [1] Specific individuals and their inventions are referred to as "pleasure engineers" in the book, owing to how they managed to "optimize sensory pleasure" in their customers. The people discussed include Thomas Edison, John Cadbury, George Eastman, and Walt Disney. [2] Works by authors including Emile Durkheim and Aldous Huxley are referenced to describe how the consuming public has become "hedonistic, self-centered, and only interested in self-gratification". [3]

The second chapter then goes on to focus on pre-history, early civilizations, and the storage of items and foods at the time, along with how foods were preserved in a time period before canning was available. Multiple stories and historical examples are used to describe the first major innovation of "tubularization" and how mass production of packaging began at the end of the 19th century and the Industrial Revolution booming in the 20th century. Packaging for public sale of goods also required the invention of advertising methods and the formation of brand goods. [4] The type of packaging used also had to change over time, moving from the development of large-scale paper production to the use of plastic and other materials. [5]

The chapter on food analyzes how fat and sugar have become commodities of the general public and not just the rich and elite, making them abundant and increasing their negative impact on peoples' health. The process of preservation packaging has also allowed for sweets like candy bars to be sold everywhere and be more preferable to a carrot as a snack. These food options are referred to as "superfoods" or "pseudofoods" in the book because they are packaged and engineered with little nutritional value and highly attractive branded marketing. [6] A chapter on cigarettes describes them as the "quintessential packaged pleasure" thanks to their portable, convenient, and generally cheap design. [7] Other example sensory pleasures used include amusement parks, phonographs, and film and cinema. These discussions also move beyond the history of the United States and include the international sale of goods and how packaging was conducted around the world. The final few chapters cover the rest of the past century and the expanding influence of technology on how packaged goods are bought, sold, and sent to customers, along with the development of powdered foods and the ubiquitous use of square cardboard boxes instead of tubes. [4]

Critical reception

In a review for the journal Technology and Culture , Kathleen Franz approved how the book expands our understanding of the subject via case studies and with a discussion of how issues like obesity, cancer, and overconsumption of resources have affected the world, but agreed with the authors that the book deals with the entirety of its investigation with a lighter general hand despite the case studies because of how quickly it glosses over entire topics. [4] Gastronomica writer Zenia Malmer explained their wishes that the book had been more critical of the ads and other things discussed, along with presenting the consumer's perspective for the products included, but concluded that it was a "good starting point" for those that wish to read and study the history of consumerism. [1] Brent Malin, reviewing for The Journal of American History , criticized the intensification thesis of the book and felt it was not strongly backed up by the case study examples, with the examples of radio and amusement parks stretching the package theme "to the point of losing its utility". He took particular issue with the idea of better music technologies making listening to music more stimulating and thought it was "historically myopic" as an idea, being claimed about many previous technologies including the telegraph. [5]

Food, Culture & Society's Jan Whitaker considered the book "provocative" and that it "holds promise" for driving discussion into new areas in food history research, but was critical of how the authors "back away from judgement" of consumer culture and the idea of a pleasure society. [6] Andrew P. Haley in The American Historical Review called the book "itself a packaged pleasure" that provided a "fresh account" of the history of mass production, though Haley wished the work took a stronger stance against consumerism rather than pushing away concerns over the "democratization of culture". [8] In a review for Times Higher Education , Isabelle Szmigin stated that the book includes a "comprehensive discussion" of the history of consumer goods and that it has a methodical use of references and insight into the history of various products. But the reviewer also questions whether the general idea has a "nagging sense of elitism" that would result in calling for less developed countries to not receive the benefits of consumerization that developed countries already have and if the benefits of decreasing hunger and other problems packaged products have provided were being overlooked. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marketing</span> Study and process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to customers

Marketing is the act of satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of business management and commerce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breakfast cereal</span> Processed food made from grain

Breakfast cereal is a breakfast food made from processed cereal grains. It is traditionally eaten as part of breakfast, or a snack food, primarily in Western societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumerism</span> Socio-economic order that encourages the purchase of goods/services in ever-greater amounts

Consumerism is a social and economic order in which the aspirations of many individuals include the acquisition of goods and services beyond those necessary for survival or traditional displays of status. It emerged in Western Europe before the Industrial Revolution and became widespread around 1900. In economics, consumerism refers to policies that emphasize consumption. It is the consideration that the free choice of consumers should strongly orient the choice by manufacturers of what is produced and how, and therefore orient the economic organization of a society. Consumerism has been criticized by both individuals who choose other ways of participating in the economy and environmentalists concerned about its impact on the planet. Experts often assert that consumerism has physical limits, such as growth imperative and overconsumption, which have larger impacts on the environment. This includes direct effects like overexploitation of natural resources or large amounts of waste from disposable goods and significant effects like climate change. Similarly, some research and criticism focuses on the sociological effects of consumerism, such as reinforcement of class barriers and creation of inequalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Retail</span> Sale of goods and services

Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells in smaller quantities to consumers for a profit. Retailers are the final link in the supply chain from producers to consumers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial art</span> Art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising

Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms for viewers with the intent of promoting the sale and interest of products, services, and ideas. It relies on the iconic image to enhance recall and favorable recognition for a product or service. An example of a product could be a magazine ad promoting a new soda through complementary colors, a catchy message, and appealing illustrative features. Another example could be promoting the prevention of global warming by encouraging people to walk or ride a bike instead of driving in an eye catching poster. It communicates something specific to an audience.

In marketing, brand management begins with an analysis on how a brand is currently perceived in the market, proceeds to planning how the brand should be perceived if it is to achieve its objectives and continues with ensuring that the brand is perceived as planned and secures its objectives. Developing a good relationship with target markets is essential for brand management. Tangible elements of brand management include the product itself; its look, price, and packaging, etc. The intangible elements are the experiences that the target markets share with the brand, and also the relationships they have with the brand. A brand manager would oversee all aspects of the consumer's brand association as well as relationships with members of the supply chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Packaging</span> Enclosure or protection of products for distribution, storage, and sale

Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end use. Packaging contains, protects, preserves, transports, informs, and sells. In many countries it is fully integrated into government, business, institutional, industrial, and for personal use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Consumer behaviour</span> Study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with consuming

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. Consumer behaviour consists of how the consumer's emotions, attitudes, and preferences affect buying behaviour. Consumer behaviour emerged in the 1940–1950s as a distinct sub-discipline of marketing, but has become an interdisciplinary social science that blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, anthropology, ethnography, ethnology, marketing, and economics.

<i>Kama</i> Concept of pleasure, enjoyment and desire in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism

Kama is the concept of pleasure, enjoyment and desire in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. It can refer to "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature, however, the term also refers to any sensory enjoyment, emotional attraction and aesthetic pleasure such as from arts, dance, music, painting, sculpture, and nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Throw-away society</span> Human society strongly influenced by consumerism

The throw-away society is a generalised description of human social concept strongly influenced by consumerism, whereby the society tends to use items once only, from disposable packaging, and consumer products are not designed for reuse or lifetime use. The term describes a critical view of overconsumption and excessive production of short-lived or disposable items over durable goods that can be repaired, but at its origins, it was viewed as a positive attribute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food industry</span> Collective term for diverse businesses that supply much of the worlds food

The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, family-run activities that are highly labour-intensive, to large, capital-intensive and highly mechanized industrial processes. Many food industries depend almost entirely on local agriculture, animal farms, produce, and/or fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Food Technologists</span> Non-profit organization

The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) is an international, non-profit scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry. It has more than 17,000 members from more than 95 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food packaging</span> Enclosure and protection of nutritional substances for distribution and sale

Food packaging is a packaging system specifically designed for food and represents one of the most important aspects among the processes involved in the food industry, as it provides protection from chemical, biological and physical alterations. The main goal of food packaging is to provide a practical means of protecting and delivering food goods at a reasonable cost while meeting the needs and expectations of both consumers and industries. Additionally, current trends like sustainability, environmental impact reduction, and shelf-life extension have gradually become among the most important aspects in designing a packaging system.

Ernest Dichter was an American psychologist and marketing expert known as the "father of motivational research." Dichter pioneered the application of Freudian psychoanalytic concepts and techniques to business — in particular to the study of consumer behavior in the marketplace. Ideas he established were a significant influence on the practices of the advertising industry in the twentieth century. Dichter promised the "mobilisation and manipulation of human needs as they exist in the consumer". As America entered the 1950s, the decade of heightened commodity fetishism, Dichter offered consumers moral permission to embrace sex and consumption, and forged a philosophy of corporate hedonism, which he thought would make people immune to dangerous totalitarian ideas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food marketing</span> Promotion of food for sale

Food marketing is the marketing of food products. It brings together the food producer and the consumer through a chain of marketing activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert N. Proctor</span> American historian of science

Robert Neel Proctor is an American historian of science and Professor of the History of Science at Stanford University, where he is also Professor by courtesy of Pulmonary Medicine. While a professor of the history of science at Pennsylvania State University in 1999, he became the first historian to testify against the tobacco industry.

Customer experience, sometimes abbreviated to CX, is the totality of cognitive, affective, sensory, and behavioral customer responses during all stages of the consumption process including pre-purchase, consumption, and post-purchase stages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brand</span> Identification for a good or service

A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and store value as brand equity for the object identified, to the benefit of the brand's customers, its owners and shareholders. Brand names are sometimes distinguished from generic or store brands.

Sensory branding is a type of marketing that appeals to all the senses in relation to the brand. It uses the senses to relate with customers on an emotional level. It is believed that the difference between an ordinary product and a captivating product is emotion. When emotion flows in the marketplace, your product shines. When there is no emotion from the product, customers lack the enthusiasm and passion that launches a product to success. Brands can forge emotional associations in the customers' minds by appealing to their senses. A multi-sensory brand experience generates certain beliefs, feelings, thoughts and opinions to create a brandgon image in the consumer's mind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aradhna Krishna</span> American academic focused on marketing

Aradhna Krishna is an American academic focused on marketing. As of 2006, she was considered one of the 50 most productive marketing professors in the world. Harvard Business Review recently acknowledged her as "the foremost expert in the field" of sensory marketing. She is the Dwight F. Benton Professor of Marketing at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She was awarded as a fellow of the Society for Consumer Psychology, the organization's highest honor, in recognition of her contributions to consumer psychology.

References

  1. 1 2 Malmer Z (February 2018). "Review: Packaged Pleasures: How Technology and Marketing Revolutionized Desire, by Gary S. Cross and Robert N. Proctor". Gastronomica . 18 (1): 99–100. doi:10.1525/gfc.2018.18.1.99 . Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  2. Gilbert DM (April 2015). "Packaged pleasures: how technology & marketing revolutionized desire". Choice Reviews . 52 (8): 1336. Retrieved June 19, 2021 via ProQuest.
  3. Bishop S (November 2015). "Cross, Gary S. and Proctor, Robert N., Packaged pleasures: how technology & marketing revolutionized desire". The Economic History Review . 68 (4): 1477–1478. doi:10.1111/ehr.12264 . Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 Franz K (October 2016). "Packaged Pleasures: How Technology and Marketing Revolutionized Desire by Gary S. Cross, Robert N. Proctor (review)". Technology and Culture . 57 (4): 1027–1028. doi:10.1353/tech.2016.0133. S2CID   114716110 . Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Malin B (March 2016). "Book Reviews: Packaged Pleasures: How Technology and Marketing Revolutionized Desire". The Journal of American History . 102 (4): 1234–1235. doi:10.1093/jahist/jav690 . Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Whitaker J (December 2015). "Reviews: Packaged Pleasures: How Technology and Marketing Revolutionized Desire". Food, Culture & Society . 18 (4): 706–708. doi:10.1080/15528014.2015.1088200. S2CID   168434784 . Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  7. Postrel, Virginia (January 19, 2015). "Designs for Living". The Weekly Standard . Vol. 20, no. 18. pp. 30–33. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  8. Haley AP (February 2016). "GARY S. CROSS and ROBERT N. PROCTOR. Packaged Pleasures: How Technology and Marketing Revolutionized Desire". The American Historical Review . 121 (1): 249.1–249. doi:10.1093/ahr/121.1.249 . Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  9. Szmigin, Isabelle (October 9, 2014). "Big thoughts and universal chaos". Times Higher Education . No. 2173. Retrieved June 19, 2021.