Judging A Book by Its Cover. C'mon, We All Do it!

When I wanted to try a different brand of shampoo, my mom bought me a brand that one of her friends had recommended. 


It was supposedly an organic shampoo with all these *magical* herbs in it.You know, not really magical. A lot of real people, who actually use it vouched for its effectiveness in tending to female tresses. (Unlike all the TV ads with celebrities who endorse popular shampoo brands.) Good thing, right?

But that's what my mother told me. What did I see? An unattractive olive green bottle, cylindrical in shape. Even the wrapper stuck on it had a text formatted so poorly that I wouldn't bother to read it. I don't have a photo, but it's a more repulsive version of that bottle in the picture. 

Anyhow, I did try the product. And you know what? People were not lying. This shampoo was more than just a soapy liquid something. It worked!


It surprised me that a product, entirely worth its price, should have only have a select, almost clandestine coterie of customers. Actually, it may not be that surprising. If I were faced with several racks of shampoo, from various brands - including this indigenous one, I probably wouldn't have bought it myself. My visual senses would just skip the ugly package. It's the way we all ignore the red cardboard bound books even without reading the titles. If you're denying that : Liar.


Once we go beyond the cover, it turns out that the few people who have discovered the excellence of the shampoo intend to keep it a secret. Why?!

"Aaah, what's the secret of your beautiful hair?"
"It's just naturally so" + prideful, phony giggles.

Whatever be the reason, it's certainly not helping the manufacturers. Phrases like "Content is more important than the facade" are irrelevant if your target audience is not even reaching the content because of the uninviting packaging. 


Morals of the story - if I'd launch a product, 
  • I'll make sure its packaging is super hot! 
  • Some marketing wouldn't hurt. Not all products have Google's word-of-mouth luck, do they?

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