Matt spotted this jar of Jif peanut butter that proudly boasts its eluded the all-seeing scope of the grocery shrink ray and still packs 18 ounces of goodness within its plastic confines.
Since the shrink ray is so prevalent, marketers need to generate an eye-catching symbol that signifies the product hasn’t been downsized, still giving customers the same value. Has anyone seen similar products bragging about their shrink ray avoidance?
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I’ve seen adverts for Reynold’s Wrap foil that brag about how they give you a “whole person’s” length of foil for free. Admittedly, I’ve not paid attention to their products for quite some time, as I’m not in charge of purchasing such commodities in my house. But I can’t help but wonder if they made their rolls smaller some months ago and just decided to give it back, and call it a present to the consumer.
@Jupichan: And what does “whole person” mean? A newborn is a whole person, so is Yao Ming. Big difference.
@Jupichan: Hey, a “whole person’s” length can be pretty useful. I mean, look what I was able to do to my roommate with a a whole roll (presumably a “whole person’s” length) of Stretch-Tite:
[img140.imageshack.us]
@nforcer: That is 1 trusting roommate.lol
@Jupichan: I’d guess they’re giving nothing back but that their “whole person” just got smaller. Don’t need much foil to cover an infant.
@Shoelace: “Don’t need much foil to cover an infant.”
You’d be surprised how much foil it actually takes…
@Jupichan: A person’s length of foil would be a dreadful shrink ray. Foil rolls should be 50′ or 75′ or 200′… and even an extraordinarily tall whole person is only 7’5″.
Maybe we can market a line of bumper stickers that says “I don’t abuse illegal substances” and “Children fed 3x per day”. It really is sad that this is now a point of pride.
@Elvisisdead: How about a promotion for a business where they put pennies on the ground with signs saying it’s safe to bend over in our business because we won’t f you up the a.
@jenjen: I like the way you think!
@Elvisisdead:
I refuse to buy ice cream in anything less than a true half gallon. Fortunately for me, that means I have no choice but to buy ultra-delicious Blue Bell.
@lockdog: Safeway’s Select house-brand of ice cream had (and may still – I’ll look next time I’m there) stickers on the freezer case noting that they were still 1.75 quarts when everyone else made the switch down to 1.5. They still are, IIRC, which is nice. It’s not a true half-gallon, but it’s still more ice cream. NOM
@lockdog: I am with you, but I reduced to having to buy Ben & Jerry’s pints as I don’t know of where to get that Blue Bell ice cream here in NYC.
Mind you, I am not complaining about having to buy B & J’s.
Peter Pan Honey Roast FTW
@Smashville_now with Monster Energy: Oooh.. that stuff is goood..
I also miss the Jif chocolate flavor.. they don’t seem to make it anymore.
Also! We’re still made with up to 60% peanut material!
You know what? Good for them!
I much prefer a straight up price increase on a brand, rather than realize I’m getting less and think a lot of people do, too. It’s pathetic that that’s a selling point, but there you have it.
It is sad that this is a point of pride, but given the prevalence of the “shrink ray,” they have every reason to do it.
FWIW I recall some yogurt commercials from some years back bragging how their containers were a full 8 oz (IIRC) while the competition had reduced to 6 oz (again, IIRC).
And here’s my proposed “icon” for this. Not that it’s all that great, but it’s something, and I whipped it up in a couple minutes:
@PsiCop: It was Columbo that did that. And guess what…they’re down to 6 oz.
@DerangedRoleModel: Thanks, I don’t eat yogurt myself (dairy intolerance) so I don’t pay too much attention to details like that. I just remember it at the time for the same reason this story is noteworthy … the message that “We didn’t shrink!” is not very common.
This rings a bell. I believe some boxes of Ronzoni pasta went from 16oz. to 12oz. with no price change.
The last few times I bought Kraft salad dressings, they had a “Still 16 oz” label on them. Since they had just re-designed the bottles, I think this was there way of saying “we didn’t do a shrink ray on them, just a redesign”
@Cybrczch: “their way” – apparently coffee had not finished kicking in then
It’s better than Jif’s original proposal, “Ceritified H1N1 Free!”
So…this packaging totally worked on me. Peanut butter brands in my local store are much the same price at this ounce size, so it essentially came down to Jif calling out Skippy for their bullshit portion downsizing. I would usually buy Skippy, but I’ve switched.
*shopping list*
-Peanut butter (Jif)
Choosy webmaster choose jif.
That is all.
Meh, they used to be 24oz. So they have shrunk.
Its the same gimmick, instead of saying “NEW LOOK! NOW 12oz!” making you think they’ve made it larger (you’d think they wouldn’t advertise the other way) when it used to be 16oz. or something.
JIF = God Tier peanut butter
We are two of a kind here. Full half gallons of BlueBell for me (bonus points for their sugar-free stuff that tastes like teh legit stuff).
Also, yes I always buy jif now for their refusal to succumb to the ‘industry-standard’ packaging-size shrink.
I still like my homemade peanut butter better. Made in the Magic Bullet of course.
Blue Bunny ice cream still advertises, “LOOK 1.75QT” Though it hasn’t shrunk, it’s damn near $7. And it tastes like crap. I’ll pass.
And you guys got it ALL WRONG. Skippy Natural is where it’s at.
I’m down to four jars left… I need a sale, damnit. I have a barrage of 75 cent coupons that need to be used.
TJ’s peanutbutter FTW. It tastes great, and its so cheap I’m suspicious of it. But, then again, I’m so cheap that I keep buying it.
@ludwigk:
Hey, I was in TJs the other day, and is it just me or have they stopped carrying all branded products except some candy bars? No more Annies, it’s all house-brand?
“Nobody better be dissin’ my peanut butter yall! Ima fixin to go up yo head. Fo real.”
That pretty much sums up the response from the man on the street around here.
JIF has been a locally produced item for many, many years.
I can’t tell you how good it smells at 7AM in the morning and the roasters over on Winchester Rd have been cooking all night.
Mmmmmmmmmmm peanuts.
JIFF – the best peanut butter around. I’ve eaten it all my life, and look where it’s gotten me!
I’ll stick with my cheap Whole Foods peanut butter that’s just peanuts and salt. That’s it. Jif is only Ok when I want really fakey tasting peanut butter, and i can never finish the whole jar.
@PsiCop: It was indeed salmonella.
@JPropaganda: I used to be, until I read the ingredients and realized they’re still using hydrogenated oils :-/
@JPropaganda: Ew I can’t eat Skippy. It leaves a bad aftertaste and the texture isn’t very pleasant. I love my JIF. I still go through an 18oz jar about every 3 weeks myself.
@nybiker: The 6-ounce brands are now 5.3 ounces, by the way. But ShopRite, Ah, Blessed ShopRite brand yogurt, still comes in last century’s 8-ounce size and I have to support that. It’s all I will buy.
@Smashville_now with Monster Energy: That salmonella peanut butter was fucking delicious.
@Blueskylaw:
Yeah, I failed to see how five feet was a whole person. Most people I know are above 5’3″. Hell, I’m like 5’9″.
Give me six feet in addition to the standard roll, and I’ll stop yelling at the TV when I see that advert.
@Daveinva: in fact, manufacturers specifically recommend NOT putting foil in the microwave. but saran wrap is usually ok
@catastrophegirl: I still go with skippy. It’s a bit sweeter than the jif.
@Jupichan: As a five foot tall whole person, I object to your comment. Prepare to taste my tiny fists of fury!
@nybiker: You’ve got to come a ways down south, it’s made in Texas and not really distributed well up north at all.
+1 for delicious blue bell
@justagigilo85: ah, when i could still eat peanut butter i went for the smucker’s because it wasn’t as sweet. but that’s why there are so many different brands – tastes differ
@Moosehawk: I’ve recently discovered Crema. Ingredients: Peanuts. Seriously, they just take peanuts and pulverize them until they’re little more than peanut-molecules. It’s so good, and so not-laden-with-salt.
Speaking of shrink ray, I bought some generic disposable/reusable food storage containers and the package now has 4 not 5. And the “val-u” brand I got is so cheaply made the lids fit poorly and there’s no 8 oz lines on the side of the container. That’s $1.69 I won’t be wasting again.
@rockasocky:
Mwahaha! I shall merely push my hand against your forehead!