From the Worldwatch Institute blog:

One of the unfortunate consequences of technological progress is that as a technology matures, advances come at an ever-slower pace, which means longer product cycles, lower sales volumes and therefore lower profits.

When this happens, marketing departments and product designers are called upon to use their imagination to dream up new features that are only indirectly related to the mature technology, but that supposedly add value nonetheless. These features can then be used to justify the introduction of a new model, so that we consumers will be tempted to replace our existing models that are still functioning perfectly well.

I'm not always very good at noticing the nuances in life. My friends kid me when I say a glass of wine is fine, while they all insist it smells of cork. Similarly, whenever I see a label that says "New & Improved" or "Great New Taste," whether it be for chewing gum or toothpaste or shampoo, I can never tell the difference between the old version and the "New & Improved" one. It's kind of embarrassing, really. If I wasn't such a trusting consumer, I might suspect that the only thing that's new is the packaging.

But I don't want to cast doubt on the dedicated researchers in the chewing gum laboratory who work year-in and year-out so that I can always look forward to an even better chewing experience. It must be terribly challenging and stressful to have to come up with an improved formula every year. Funny... I've never met anyone who works in "chewing gum flavor retention research." Have you?

Of course, some things -- like mobile phones -- are advancing so rapidly that they really do seem to change every six months. Therefore mobile phone advertisers have an easy job; the phones practically sell themselves. But shampoo? How many improvements can you make to shampoo?

We all know what our twenty-first century lifestyle is doing to our health. Eating more fatty foods and getting less regular exercise means that more and more people are overweight. In some developed countries more than half the population is affected.

It appears that our four-legged friends suffer from the same fate. According to the Swiss Beobachter magazine (in German), between 30% and 50% of dogs and cats in Swiss households are overweight. The causes are not that much different than for their two-legged masters: serving portions are too big, and pets that spend the whole day alone indoors don't get enough exercise.

Beobachter also gives some insight into how the marketing department gets involved. The target audience for the pet food manufacturer is not just the pet, but also its owner. If the owner opens a package of pet food and it smells good, he is likely to dish out more of it. Unfortunately, what might smell appealing to the owner can be overpowering to the more sensitive noses of our furry friends. Therefore the pet food research labs face the challenge of finding a recipe that will make everyone happy: A recipe that gives the owner a quick burst of aroma when the package is first opened, but that quickly dissipates so that Fifi will like it too.