Andrew Taylor on the Business of Arts & Culture
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So let's rename ''classical'' as ''authentic retro-ambient''
Posted: October 13, 2006
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Pity the plight of the dear old prune. Long promoted for its fiber and vitamin qualities, it had lost connection to a younger audience who perceived it to be an old-person's fruit. It wasn't hip. It wasn't even retro-hip. It was a product without a future.
So, what did the prune lobby do (yes, there is a prune lobby)? As we all know, they petitioned the Food and Drug Administration for a new name. The prune became the ''dried plum'' in June 2000. Changes in marketing, packaging, and product soon followed (dried plums with lemon essence, cherry essence, herbal essence...wait, that's a shampoo). Says this account of the transition:
"For many years it was advertised as a laxative," recalls [Sunsweet VP of Marketing Howard] Nager. "What we're trying to present today isn't a whole lot different. We may not be using the word regularity, and we're certainly not using the word laxative, but we are promoting the benefits," he says.
Despite general enthusiasm by the nascent dried plum industry, at least one academic remained unconvinced that such a radical rebranding was necessary. Said Adel Kader, professor of post-harvest physiology at the University of California Davis' Department of Pomology:
''It's a very tasty fruit. I don't know why people shy away from eating it because of the name.''
I have no profound conclusion or connection to make here (except to say that I now want to be a ''pomologist''). Please take a moment to construct your own...