Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Size Matters

And I'm here to tell you, bigger isn't always better... but sometimes it is! Let me explain.

I heard a commercial the other day for the new Coke 12.5 ounce bottles and it got me thinking. I remember back in the early 90s when there was a race to see who could make teh biggest sodas. It started at 12 ounce, then up to 16, then to 20, then 24, then the mighty BIG SLAM 1 Liter. Around that time was when I first remember seeing the gigantic 3 Liters starting to roll out. (Side note: I always hated 3 liter sodas. They always tasted flat, even when you first open them.)

At the same time that soda and several other food items started growing, technology started shrinking. TVs, cell phones, laptops, even the Playstation 2 started trying to make things smaller and smaller... well, physically at least. Storage space has constantly grown but the actual items themselves were shrinking.

Fast forward to now and watch a few minutes of commercials: drinks, chicken nuggets, and all manner of foods are now going with "snack sizes" and "handheld" and other types of SMALLER portions while technology has gone the opposite direction as well. TV screens, smart phones, tablets, and all kinds of tech is getting BIGGER.

Is bigger better? Depends on WHAT and WHEN you are talking about.