Eng2.

Paper #1

1-30-96

Studding the Tide

The tide rolls in and out, and so does the fashion sense of our nation. The clothing industry is flowing with new ideas that will make you want their product, so why should the detergent companies be left on the shore line. The Procter and Gambel compa ny is in the business of selling products that wash away mishaps on clothes. Their product "Tide" has been extremely effective in the cleansing market. Your general box of tide, or bottle for that matter, is red, dark blue and yellow. This is a relativ ely simple scheme of hues, but when one stops to think about it, there are much deeper forces at work. This expository paper will mostly concern itself with the plastic bottle.

The Procter and Gamble company is interested in sales and sales alone. Their advertising campaign on a variety of their products is the same, environmentally friendly. Although much research is put in to the cleaning power of Tide, even more time and m oney is invested in to the research of selling techniques. One such technique is the safe environment campaign.

The environmentally safe product is one that contains no harsh cleaning products or outlandish packaging techniques. Another aspect of environmentally safe cleaners is its ability to do more work with less product. The chemical makeup of a cleanser of this caliber is the equilevent of that of a can of soda. In fact, it is possible to remove some stains by using a clear sugar free soda. The big reason for the cleanser suspicion, as it pertains to chemicals, is the use of phosphorus. Many companies b oast, "No Phosphorus". None of those companies tell of the chemicals used to supplement the removal of the "deadly" chemical. Many times the stand-in chemical is more abrasive to the environment than phosphorus. The Procter and Gamble company is intere sted in selling America a myth of safety. They hope that the consumers are ignorant of the facts behind the, "safe alternative".

The reason the packaging of a product is such an issue is not of the public's doing, but rather the manufacturers. The Tide company has given the public information and loads of research in order to convince the public that the environment is in need of help. They tell the public that plastic containers are depleting the land fill space at a far greater rate than first speculated. In order to combat this the Tide company has developed a concentrate cleaner. This product seems to do the same work as t he original strength cleaner, yet with much less cleaner needed. They are combating the land fill problem with the very product they desire to eliminate. The containers used to hold the product has not changed at all, except for the size. In actuality the new containers are thicker than the old, therefore making it more difficult for nature to degrade them.

What is the company trying to sell the public? There are millions of dollars spent every year trying to decide just what society is looking for. Many people think that they buy a product because of the outstanding image associated with it. This, in ma ny cases, is not the truth. While the image may be in tact, the actual performance is far from the information given.

Our society is being constantly bombarded with misleading campaigns and false advertising. This says a great deal about the advertising leaders, and about the public consumers. The public is so willing to believe the cliche; image on the television, th at the big picture is lost.

The Tide company is selling consumers an image of power without loss. In order to achieve something, one must give up something. If a person wants to achieve a perfect grade on a test, that student must give up time. Tide wants the public to believe t hat the only thing given up is the money spent on the product, by doing so much is achieved. In actuality the consumer has compromised the environment as well as their piece of mind, assuming they ponder the situation.

In looking at the Tide cleaner one can not find any real fault. There are no blatant lies associated with the product. Phosphorous really is bad for the environment, and it is never written on the product that it is not supplemented with something wors e. The company has consolidated the product, as is true to their word, and they would be foolish to point out the thicker container. But the essence of all of this is that the society of the United States is willing to accept these shades of reality. Wh at does this say about the public? One is not ignorant just because he/she buys a bottle of seemingly harmless cleaner.

The public, as a whole, is showing the world that it is looking for the popular rather than the effective. If another company introduced the same product that Procter and Gambel had introduced it is likely that it would not be as effective. This introd uces a notion of a dim minded society. Not only are they able to be persuaded to buy based on looks and shallow techniques, but they are also willing to purchase under the suspicion of shady claims. When will society be able to choose based on function rather than form? This will come when the public steps back and looks at itself as a collective unit.

The basis for advertising in the United States is to tell the public what they want. The public is so willing to believe that the way it loksis more important than what it achieves. The purpose of a cleaner is to avoid color and odor and induce a more healthy environment. It is apparent that society is very concerned about their outward appearances. This can be deduced by looking at the catch phrasese on a bottle of Tide detergent. "Helps keep clothes looking more like new." Is this what is most important, or is this what has been drilled into the minds of hte public? One needs to read into the catchy phrases as well as look past the flashy colors. The real product is in between the walls of the container, not on the outside of the label.