“Only an inventor knows how to borrow...”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Quotation and
Originality,” Letters and Social Aims
As consumers shuffle through the cold and flu section
of the grocery store, their bleary eyes and fevered brains may have difficulty deciphering what breath strips are doing next to cough syrup, or even more out of place,
in the pet food section.
“Art begins in imitation and ends in innovation.”
—Mason Cooley, City Aphorisms
But the eyes have it this time with another case of “inspired borrowing,” where a good idea transmigrates via creative osmosis from its point of origin to non-related categories. Strips have outstripped their foundation application, and this clever, no-mess delivery mechanism now brings aid to cold sufferers everywhere. From Triaminic Cough Thin Strips to Chloraseptic Sore Throat Relief Strips, symptoms melt away as the transparent films dissolve and release
the medication.
Proof Paws-itive
The American obsession with personal hygiene and halitosis has also crossed the species barrier. Little did Pfizer know when the company's Cool Mint Listerine PocketPaks debuted, that strips would become a dog's (or its owner's) best friend. Parked between the kibble and Kongs are Hartz Dental Breath Strips for Dogs, Breath-Eze Breath Strips
for Dogs, Yip Yap Breath Strips and SpotScent Oral
Care Strips.
But strips are not the only packaging innovation that has dogs howling for more. Cesar Gourmet Dog Biscuits now feature a gable-topped paper bag associated with upscale cookies like the Pepperidge Farm or Brent and Sam's product lines.
Purina presents Mighty Dog Premium Entrees in vacuum-packed pouches for easier handling and portion control,
borrowing a page (or pouch) from tuna purveyors HJ Heinz StarKist, Chicken of the Sea and Bumble Bee. To accommodate volume buyers, Purina pored over the laundry section and adapted a plastic pour-top container for its Kibbles & Mini Chunks dry food.
“Imitation is the sincerest flattery.”
—C.C. Colton, The Lacon
One Stop Shop
First came the facial wipes with familiar names like Dove, Neutrogena, Olay and Biorè. These disposable cloths were impregnated with soap or acne preparations, combining two products (cotton pads and cleansers) into a single, throw-away applicator. Apparently the idea has been absorbed by the
dishwashing category, with the advent of products like Ultra Concentrated Dawn Wash & Toss Disposable Dish Pads.
The more mechanically minded on the tableware clean team took the idea of a spin toothbrush and went one better. Or at least bigger. The Dawn Power Dish Brush resembles a giant electric toothbrush with large and small rotating bristles.
School Daze
Perhaps all that daydreaming in class did pay off. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers took both their name and shape from the chalkboard essential. Another source of scholastic inspiration was the simple ballpoint pen, which has morphed into items like the Oral B Rembrandt Whitening Pen for teeth and the Clorox Whitening Pen for household stains.
School lunchrooms across the nation resonate with the snick of the seal breaking on a Jell-O Gelatin or Jell-O Pudding cup. Now there's a new snack in town with a crunch all its own, but in a very familiar-looking package: Pringles Snack Stacks. Candy lovers could barely contain their joy when Hershey's laid claim to the cup-style container featuring confections
under the York, Reese's, Almond Joy and Hershey's
Chocolate banners.
When it comes to packaging hits, Yogi Berra had the right idea, “It's déjà vu all over again.”
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