 |
A project to make businesses more aware of their customer experience, and how to fix it. By Mark Hurst. |
| About Mark Hurst | Mark's Gel Conference | New York Times Story on This Is Broken | Newsletter: Subscribe | RSS Feed |
Search this site:
Categories:
- Advertising
- Current Affairs
- Customer Service
- Fixed
- Food and Drink
- Just for Fun
- Misc
- Not broken
- Place
- Product Design
- Signs
- Travel
- Web/Tech
Previous: Canadian sports helmet | Main | Next: (For fun) Halsteel nail warning
February 1, 2005 12:11 AM
Broken: Cereal package labeling
Matt Haughey writes:
I learned this morning that cereal packages sometimes don't have the name of the cereal on the side, so if that side is facing out, it's hard to find your food in the morning. Where is Life cereal in this photo?
I posted a blog entry about it.
i see no problem here, personally it looks as though this box belongs to someone and not only has it been positioned the way they want it, its already been opened, almost all the time at stores, cereals are never facing edge out, if this is a "i store it in my pantry and cant tell problem" well, im sure you can tell the difference between your golden grahams and your life cereal, considering youd already subconsciously know what the box looks like from purchasing it and using it.
The product isn't broken for store displays, but for home use after it's bought. When I put ceral away in the cupboard, it's always oriented just like in the picture, because I don't have luxury of 1000's of feet of shelf like the supermarkets.
If only one cereal does this, then there is a way to distinguish in your pantry. But consider if all cereals did this. Consider what happens when the same ads are run so the sides no longer are distinguishable. This packaging is at least mildly broken.
"...there is a way to distinguish..."
Sure, clever users always find a way around brokenness, or live with it. It's still broken.
Personally, I _don't_ know what cereal is on the shelf at my house. I live with a family, 6 people total. I'm not always the one to go grocery shopping, and we share what we get. I was looking for breakfast this morning and there were nearly a dozen different boxes of cereal, I'm glad most had visible labels. The box in the picture is definitely broekn.
I've found the same thing is true of Hot Pockets. Unless I make sure to put one particular edge toward the door when I store them in the freezer, I can't tell what the filling is. This can be a problem in a small apartment freezer.
Has anybody wondered why a food product would put a large "Bustin' with Big Air" logo on their product? Consumer: Gee, if I eat this cereal will I be "bustin' with big air"?
Life Cereal is geared towards younger folk so it seems normal for a cartoon charachter to show up on the side of the box
I have the same problem. When I put my books on the shelf spine side first, I can never tell which book is which! My books are all broken!
;)
This problem could be solved in two different ways.
1. Lay the cereal so that the top of the box is seen. So if it was rotated 90 degrees along the x axis
2. Mix all cereal together into one huge garbage back of joy.
3. Eat Eggo Waffles instead.
:D
My previous post was broken, I hit submit too soon.
This problem could be solved in two different ways.
1. Lay the cereal so that the top of the box is seen. So if it was rotated 90 degrees along the x axis you would see the box tops which as all boxtop collectors will tell you clearly states the product's name.
2. Mix all cereal together into one huge garbage back of joy.
3. Eat Eggo Waffles instead.
:D
It's not the lack of logo on the side that is broken. It's the 50+ flavors of cereals that you have to choose from that is...
---------
George Carlin: [...] Banks--the big banks, the big brokerage houses, the big accounting firms...all the things that are important reduced in choice. Newspapers in the city--how many? Used to be 3, 4? Now it's 1 or 2. They're owned by the same people, and they also own a radio station and a TV station. But jellybeans? 32 flavors. Ice cream--all the things that don't matter. The unimportant things, a lot of choices. You know what I say? You know what your freedom of choice is in America? Paper or plastic. That's it, man. It comes down to paper or plastic, cash or charge, aisle or window, smoking or nonsmoking, Coke or Pepsi. These are your choices. Everything else is kind of laid out for you. You get to do what they really want. They do what they want. The ones who own this country, they do what they want.
-------
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200404/20040408_transcript.html
Just pick up the box, rotate 180 degrees, and replace it. The name of the cereal is always on one of the sides of the box, so aim that side out.
What a stupid complaint. I agree with the poster joking about putting his books on the shelf the wrong way. Just flip it around.
When the product name does not clearly appear on the side of a package that most commonly faces the outside of where it is stored, IT'S BROKEN. All it takes is the name of the product on maybe the top 2 square inches of the box. Have you no pride in your brand name?
What kids actually cut out the lame cardboard shapes and puzzles that they fill space with anyway?
"What's the matter with you people, don't ya have any PRIDE?!"
the other side of the box usually just contains nutritional information and if there is a logo for the cereal it will be printed very small and will be hard to pick out along with all the ads from the other boxes...
That's why I just have yogurt and a banana for breakfast. No matter what side of the banana you store it, you don't confuse it with the apples.
Not that it isn't broken.
you complain about this, and yet i have seen nothing dealing with the bagged cereals, the generic ones, those arent marked on the sides, granted you can see through them, but there are still some similar looking generic cereals, i think thats broken if this is.
true, remove all of the cereals from the bags and you have indeed solved the problem...
but i do enjoy reading the boxes that early in the morning when its the only thing i can really comprehend...
Yep, it's broken. I have to agree with Carl Winslow, I love reading the boxes in the morning. The more reading on the box, the better (especially if it's a kids cereal)! My kids and I like to switch boxes with each other as we munch cereal in the morning.
so you claim this is broken, yet say you enjoy the fact that it is? either you have the word loaded ads, or you have the one word on the side of the box.
Boy, I miss cereal. This post just reminded me that it's been years since I've had a bowl.
*to the supermarket*
They just should have a bigbix of cere@l the size of a 17 inch C-R-T screen with a little bit of every kind of cereal in it seperated by cardboard
They just should have a bog bix of cereal the size of a 17 inch CRT moniter with a little bit of every kind of cereal in it seperated by cardboard compartments.
They just should have a bog bix of cereal the size of a 17 inch C-R-T moniter with a little bit of every kind of cereal in it seperated by cardboard compartments.
A lot of cereal boxes are different colors, like Fruity Pebbles VS Cheerios, so I just use that. Also aren't normal Bananas about to be wiped out by a disease or something?
Comments on this entry are closed
Previous: Canadian sports helmet | Main | Next: (For fun) Halsteel nail warning
i think they got a little too greedy with selling off their box space to advertising...
Posted by: Carl Winslow at February 1, 2005 12:22 AM