New and Improved

By stella.louise (view all posts by stella.louise)
at 12:02PM Friday July 24, 2009
under Odds and Ends

Recently we posted about our upcoming site re-launch. We've been working super hard and are really excited about the new design and functionality. No doubt some of you are dubious about it--after all, "new and improved" is a staple marketing tactic.

You won't have much longer to wait until the new Savings.com is unveiled, but until then let's take a look at some examples of when "new and improved" wasn't vs. when it actually lived up to the hype:

Someone forgot the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" When New Coke was introduced in 1985, it fizzled like--well, a can of soda gone flat. After a huge public backlash, makers of Coca-Cola were forced to hastily retreat from the whole "New Coke" campaign and bring back "Old Coke" which was then dubbed "Classic Coke." It was only recently that Coca-Cola dropped the "classic" designation from labels.

Other than a similarity in color scheme, we promise you the new Savings.com will not be another New Coke!

While New Coke may have fallen flat, the beverage industry took cheer in another 80s innovation: the stay-tab opening. No more pull tabs! While this meant no more pull-tab chain necklaces or belts, it also meant less litter, reduced choking hazards and fewer injuries. The stay-tab proves that you can indeed build a better mousetrap...

The Sci-Fi channel has been a haven for geeks and geekettes with episodes of Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Battlestar Galactica and Dr. Who making up its programming roster. Now, the Sci-Fi channel wants to branch out and be more than merely science fiction. Nothing wrong with that, but who came up with the idea for the rather douche-y looking rename? The "fancyfy-ed" spelling has me both "horryfy-ed" and "mystyfy-ed." I'm not the only one: check out Richard Laermer's rant over at the Huffington Post...

Speaking of TV, usually small screen versions of movies are sad, pathetic rip-offs of the original. But how often does it happen that the original movie is actually sort of sad and pathetic and the television version becomes a popular cult favorite? The movie version of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer starring Kristy Swanson (who?) was generally dismissed as being a lightweight piece of fluff. That didn't stop writer Joss Whedon from turning it into a much-loved TV series five years later. The new Buffy was definitely an improvement over the original version.

You know those Justin Long and John Hodgman Mac vs. PC commercials? We have our own little Mac vs. PC "wars" here at Savings.com. But even a die-hard PC fan has to admit that they tremble with fear instead of anticipation at the news of a new Microsoft OS release. The worst thing about Vista wasn't the usual Microsoft using their customer base as beta-testers--it was the corresponding upgrades in the Microsoft Office programs. The new "intuitive" layouts had many users tearing their hair out as they clicked around frantically trying to figure out how to do formerly simple tasks like changing formatting defaults.

Even John Hodgman would have to admit that Apple's debut of the Macintosh personal computer in 1984 with its mouse and graphical interface was definite improvement over command line computing that preceded it. Although Apple took a gamble with its Orwellian-style advertisement heralding the Mac's arrival, the elegantly designed and easy-to-use machine certainly lived up to all the hype.

Jennifer Grey was best-known for being Patrick Swayze's lucky dance partner in Dirty Dancing--as well as her role as Ferris Bueller's kid sister in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Her up-and-coming career hit the wall when she decided to "enhance" her appearance by getting a nose job in 1990. Rhinoplasty is typical among Hollywood stars, but eliminating her imperfections also made her indistinguishable from millions of other starlets. Grey called her nose job the worst decision she ever made. Obviously, NOT an improvement...

In an example of when the copy is actual better than the original version we have Sarah Palin vs. Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. 'Nuff said.

Stay tuned for the new and improved Savings.com! Same great deals--and much, much more...