I’ve done this before with tuna cans and probably the coffee–did you know that once upon a time they put a full pound of coffee in that same size container that now holds anyplace from 11.5 to 13 ounces?–but here’s a brand new one.
Dial soap. See how it’s carved out at the top? Yes, it’s a new design, but it also has shaved .25 oz. off each bar. You used to get 4.25 oz. in a bar, now the bars are 4.0 oz. but the price has remained the same, or maybe gone up.
I fully understand that prices go up. Over the past 40 years I’ve seen things rise to ten times their cost. Houses ($40k to $400k), cars ($2k to $20k), a quart of milk $0.25 to $2.50), etc. A pound of coffee used to be $1.00. I don’t mind rising prices, though I wish salaries had gone up 1000% as well (minimum wage was $1.25, now $7.50). I understand that times change and costs and resulting prices adjust.
I just hate when marketing thinks itself clever and insults us with carving off .25 oz. of soap or packaging a half-full box of crackers.
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This is almost always the case for diet products as well. It’s just a portion controlled size for the same, if not more money.
What’s funny is, advertising costs are skyrocketing as well, so to release a new design is probably incredibly expensive on the promotional end. Ironically, I don’t think any major company’s advertising budget is decreasing. *Shrug of shoulders.*
It’s getting ridiculous, with so many products that appear to be competing but which are in fact made by the same “mother” company. Think of the wasted money coming up with different labels and programs for that.