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New and Improved: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|'''Drone:''' But your highness, she's a commoner! Her Slurm will taste foul!
'''Hive Queen:''' Yes! Which is why we'll market it as ''New Slurm''! Then, when everyone hates it, we'll bring back ''Slurm Classic'' and make BILLIONS!
|''[[Futurama]]''}}
A [[Weasel Words|Weasel Word]] which attempts to give the impression of radical improvement in the quality or performance of a product which might not actually be there. In fact, US government regulations require only that there be a small functional change in a product ''or its packaging'' to qualify it to use this description. Thus, changing the design for the spout on a box of detergent would allow the manufacturer to tout it as being "new and improved". Changing the quantity of the product can also be a "new and improved" change, even if the change isn't in the direction that would qualify as an "improvement" for anyone except the manufacturer's accountants. Your favorite cereal might become "new and improved" when they increase the size of the box but decrease the amount of cereal in the box. Your favorite shampoo might become "new and improved" when they add a strong fragrance that makes your hair smell awful - or, worse, makes you sneeze.
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* In one that flew completely under the radar, Old El Paso, a brand primarily known for making salsa, began advertising their "New and improved zesty flavor". What they really did was doubled the salt and nothing else. Please note: "zesty" is completely meaningless.
* Legally, a product can be considered 'new and improved' if there is a 'substantial alteration in the product's performance or operation'. Usually, it's through the addition or alteration of the formula; since the formula (and thus, the product) is technically 'new' and the product itself is demonstrably 'improved', it's nearly bulletproof when it comes to advertising law.
** And what constitutes a "substantial alteration" can be surprisingly small, as one image circulating the net as a meme shows: comparing the caps of bottled product, it shows that the new, improved version has ''a bigger hole"". And that's all.
* Parodied in the Canadian "
* Inverted by [[wikipedia:Monster Munch|Monster Munch]] in the UK: on their packets they advertise "<s> New</s> Old! Bigger like they used to be! (as in 1977)"
* Walkers Crisps did this on several occasions. Nobody was able to tell the difference as most of the time, they were able to replace ingredients without the flavour significantly changing. However, there was at least one instance of them having to own up to it. They had to change the name of the flavour "Barbecue" to "
* Many shops, when being renovated, have a sign on the outside saying something like 'Sorry for the wait. We're improving the shop for your convenience'. People who enter said improved shop rarely find anything has happened except things have been moved around. Hardly convenient.
* In one which is an inversion, Irn Bru has had Original And Best on its cans for years, but the formula has never actually been changed. The reason for this is that it was the first and most prominent iron brew to be produced.
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[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Advertising Tropes]]
[[Category:Appeal to Novelty]]
[[Category:Weasel Words]]
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