Simpler Times [2007]
I’ve recently updated my trends database as input to a new product development process I’m working on. I was amazed how stale the database had become in such a short time.
For years it was sufficient to add in a few extra things and update a few others. Now suddenly I had to make wholesale deletions – finding so many things that were “so over”.
It’s more proof that the world has moved on and that the phase change I’ve been talking about for the last year or so is beginning to bite.
Almost automatically I began mining the trend clusters for traces of over-arching trends that transcend individual categories. I found nine of them.
Nothing particularly unexpected, but in several cases I was really surprised at how pervasive particular trends had become.
One of the most interesting of these über trends concerns Nostalgia for Simpler Times. You read that phrase and you probably automatically think “back to nature” or, if you’re very rude, “knit your own yoghurt time”, but nostalgia is far more embedded in contemporary life than you might realise.
The yearning for simpler times unites trends as disparate as slow food, natural remedies, boho chic, the resurgence of yoga, Pasifika, mainland islands, finger waves, baches by the sea, intrepid third world travel, fundamentalist religion, vintage, world heritage parks, the new raunchiness, mid-century style, musical tribute movies, lifestyle blocks and the continuing appeal of boy bands.
Yes New Kids on the Block are back!!
This nostalgia is about going back to village life, honest toil, stronger leadership, more defined sex roles, more basic ways of life in more pristine environments.
Not that we’re going back to the past any time soon. Almost all the current trends point towards greater affluence, more choices, rising expectations, less time, more help from technology and greater fluidity and uncertainty.
In this roller-coaster environment, nostalgia serves two purposes:-
- It anchors us to something that seems more REAL.
- And it ensures that we don’t forget important things.
Of course the things we anchor to are almost invariably NOT real. Nostalgia is wonderfully selective – the bits of memory, dogma or experience that don’t fit are ruthlessly edited out so that we can make a better contrast between NOW and THEN.
Then – we were ecological saints. Now we’re destructive monsters.
Then – we were god-fearing and civilised. Now – we’re heading for hell. . . etc.
Then – women were sweet, sexy and compliant. Now – they’re really bossy. [It didn’t happen like that. They were always bossy.]
This contrasting of now and then equates to Step One [thesis] and Step Two [antithesis] in Hegel’s dialectical method [which according to Wikipedia has been vulgarised as thesis-antithesis-synthesis.
But hey! It works for me and nobody understands what Hegel really said anyway.] The third step is towards synthesis where hopefully the best elements of each idea are retained and pulled together into new balance.
In social terms that often means stepping back from extreme positions towards more common ground. And bringing good ideas from the past back into present thinking again. I read somewhere that people in the 21st century have more access to past ideas than any group before them.
But that’s one of those things you read, isn’t it? You can have it, but do you use it?
By understanding what people are selecting from the past, we understand the pressure points of living in the present.
If you’re yearning for a simpler world, rather than a more sophisticated or exciting world [as people did in the sixties, which were quite dull until they got going] – you’re reflecting core unease with the growing complexity, fluidity and choice we have available now.
So now a question for you. Are you part of the cycle of Nostalgia? Have you been complicating people's lives? I know I have – encouraging clients to willy-nilly personalise their offerings to meet their customers’ needs.
Now firms bulge with SKUs and have so many variants they find it almost impossible to meaningfully market them.
If you have been part of the problem – giving your customers what they wanted, and having all your competitors do the same – now is the time for step Three – Synthesis – streamlining, refining and make the choosing easier.
Whatever you do, don’t tell them there are fewer choices or that they can't have what they want! Choice is how we measure affluence and growth and future security.
Even as it baffles and ensnares us, we’d hate to have less choice.That would mean we were going backwards. What we really need is easier choice . . faster choice.. simpler, more appropriate, less risky, more personalised choice.
I notice that Resene Paints have picked up on Dulux UK’s idea of running questionnaires on their website to help people discover their colour personality and thereby make sense of all their potential paint choices. Good example! It didn’t work for me – I was typical of three of the four types – but good on them for trying.
Actually if you wouldn’t mind it’d be great if you’d try out the Resene test and let me know how you scored. If they really do have a problem and it’s not just me, I think I might be able to help them out. I know a thing or two about online questionnaires.
Cheers
Jill
Jill Caldwell is Director of Windshift Communications Ltd. Click Here to contact Jill directly This is a free monthly newsletter provided to direct subscribers and legitimate Windshift contacts only. No further use is made of subscriber information. [Copyright Windshift Communications Ltd 2006]
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"The yearning for simpler times unites trends as disparate as slow food, natural remedies, boho chic, the resurgence of yoga, Pasifika, mainland islands, finger waves . . . "
