Leave it to marketers to create the tantalizing proposition of getting more for less when you buy their product.
Both the new Apple iPhone and Tide 2X are making similar claims.
For the iPhone, Apple says you get twice the speed for half the price. In fact, the first generation iPhone sold for $399, while the just released 3G version sells for $199. So far, so true.
One catch is that you have to sign a two year contract. But the sneakier one is this:
*MOUSE PRINT: The data plan for the new iPhone is $30 a month, compared to $20 a month for the old one. Over a 24 month period, you will be paying an additional $240 to AT&T for the phone, which, in essence makes it 10% more expensive than its predecessor — not half the price.
Now for Tide 2X. Procter & Gamble is turning back the clock to the 70s when liquid laundry detergents were concentrated. You only had to use 1/4 of a cup. The “new” detergent in essence has half the water of the old one, so the new 50 ounce jug will do the same number of loads as the old 100 ounce one.
But in TV and print advertising, they say the new detergent is more powerful:
“Twice the stain fighting power in every drop” is the claim, and that might make you think it is stronger and better than competitors.
*MOUSE PRINT: The disclaimer indicates the comparison is to their non-concentrated former product. Fine. So while it’s literally true that every drop of new Tide has twice the power of the old one, since you only use half the amount , you are not likely to see dramatically cleaner laundry because the product is still diluted by a machine full of water. (Where “x” is the strength of the product, one-half times 2x still just equals x.) Â
Of course, for treating stains directly from the bottle, there may be an advantage.Â
This is why you should buy the powder. More cleaning power than the liquid, and less expensive.
I just like the fact that I get the same amount of loads from a bottle that is easier to bring home from the store and uses less plastic. The old bottles were so heavy! As far as powders go, I live in an area with cesspools. According to the people that service my cesspool, the powders don’t break down as easily as the liquid.
OK, I see where the “1/2 the price” claim comes in for iPhone, and the “twice the power” claim for Tide, but not quite sure of the title: “Twice the Power for Half the Amount?”
Seems like two separate but related topics.
The iPhone deal, as with all of these phone deals, is just way too sleazy for me.
The Tide thing? Well, I would call it creative marketing, which is probably necessary to show people that their smaller contains give you (in concept) the same product as the previous one and the ones that their competitor’s may have.
I agree. I don’t like powders. They always leave residue on my clothes. I really don’t know about the cesspool thing.
In my supermarket, it’s not only Tide, it’s all liquid laundry detergents. Yeah, it’s lovely when there’s only two companies selling laundry detergents….
If you’re getting powder residue, you might try:
* Washing in warm or hot water instead of cold.
* Using less powder. Less than half the recommended amount is all you need, unless the load is heavily soiled.
* Switch brands.
I use Tide Free & Clear powder and never had a problem with residue.
I remember over twenty years ago, when they came out with a ‘New and Improved’ Tide. My mother said then, ‘if it was so good to begin with why do they need to improve it?’ And here they are still playing that game. Some things just never change.
I will say that I once mistakenly used the old measuring cup for the new concentrated detergent. Oh man, I had soap bubbles everywhere!
the author who wrote this article is wrong in the way he reasons.
the author of this article says that
“The disclaimer indicates the comparison is to their non-concentrated former product. Fine. So while it’s literally true that every drop of new Tide has twice the power of the old one, since you only use half the amount , you are not likely to see dramatically cleaner laundry because the product is still diluted by a machine full of water. (Where “x†is the strength of the product, one-half times 2x still just equals x.)”
tide claims that it has a “new formula” which removes stains better than before. this guy argues that the dilution wouldn’t offer that benefit. tide makes no mention of how dilution is connected in anyway with stain fighting power which is now a little more powerful. it further moves away from that issue by saying “PLUS…” which means there is something new added as a feature to the product inside, not intrinsic to it.
these are two different topics. dilution and concentration vs. new and old formula. poor reasoning.
on the other hand, i wholeheartedly agree that the “new formula” is a joke. it is completely false because tide would never change its formula. that’s like coke now changing its classic taste. fruity pebbles tried that trick on me. i hadn’t eaten it for 18 years and one day when i tasted it (the box said “now, new and improved taste!”) last summer, it tasted like it came right out of a shelf from a supermarket in 1989.
furthermore, the whole issue about diluted vs. concentrated product has to do with quantity. and tide maintains that it is indeed equal in quantity by saying “you get the same number of loads in a smaller bottle.” tide does not say that you will get cleaner laundry because of the fact that the detergent is concentrated.
I would have to say that the Tide ad does imply it to be more powerful while at the same time giving you the same number of loads.
You missed the biggest joke of the Tide trick. They had been selling smaller bottles that were advertised as 3x the power. Marketing must have found that it was too hard to convince consumers that it was better to have a small bottle so they went back to a more watered down formula. Makes it harder to walk it home from the grocery store, wastes water, and wastes plastic.
As long as people measure the detergent, it’s OK by me. Trouble is, many people slop the detergent into a top loader or fill the detergent reservoir to the max.
Cheer always had the most deceptive package. Ever notice the 80 ounce bottle standing tall among its 100 ounce brteheren? Cheer used the “power of the triangle” in their design to chop off most of those 20 ounces. (The handle is sharply angled.) Have you noticed how many detergents have followed in Cheer’s footsteps, distorting the size of the bottle by angles and huge handle openings?
My mother-in-law used to drive me crazy when she had her two-week visit. Every day she did a small load of laundry, maybe just a few undergarments. And she would set the water level to HIGH. I would think that the HIGH level would dilute the detergent effect and that the clothes might not get as clean.
I have the last laugh. I have a new water-saving washer and she can’t set the water level!
The new data plan for the iPhone 3G does not include 200 text messages. You must pay $5 more a month to get them. This makes the new 3G iPhone $360 mote expensive.
I really wanted one of these or something similar, but I can’t justify the monthly cost.
Boy, you really like to imply deception where none exists. The language on the Tide bottle is perfectly comprehensible and states plainly that the product is twice as strong as its non-concentrated version. It is trivial to conclude that there being half as much of the product that is twice as strong means that the actual amount of cleaning potential in the product is the same for both the 50 ounce 2X version and the 100 ounce 1X version.
Again, where is the deception? Deception would be “This bottle cleans twice as much stuff as the 100 ounce single-strength version,” and this product goes nowhere NEAR saying that.
The real problem with these super-concentrated detergents is that they make
it just that much more difficult to measure out the proper amount. Unless you’re
trying really hard, it’s very easy to over-measure. Hey presto! We’re using
more detergent than we have to and the manufacturers sell more.
I agree with Eric – the Tide claim is completely fair and above-board. I don’t assume they’re referring to their competitors.
(But good catch with the iPhone. The New York Times made the same point in their review.)
Also – scir91 is completely wrong. Tide is constantly improving their formula (and in fact, frequently advertises said changes to their formula). I don’t think consumers have the same attachment to Tide’s chemical makeup that they do to Coke or Colonel Sander’s recipe.
I agree with JJersey, I use Purex Ultra concentrate, the fill level lines are just bumps on the inside of the cap and unless you hold it up to the light you can’t tell where they are. Ergo, you use more than needed and they sell more soap.
I also agree with Adam, all detergents sold today are indeed are much improved in regards to cleaning power then they used to.
Has tide mentioned any additives or boosters to this “new” cleaning formula? I like how liquids break down a lot better than powders but I wonder if you are paying more for the water? Do they use something besides water in the liquid cleaners as the mixing agent?
Another drawback to the super concentrated detergents is the lid in which you are to measure the correct amount of detergent. The directions on the back (and this seems to apply to every brand I’ve purchased)
state that for a small to regular load, fill to first line, and for large loads fill to second line in cap.
When trying to locate the lines inside the cap, you need a magnifying glass, because they are very difficult to see. The measuring lines are indented into the plastic lid making them the same color as the lid. (The Tide lid measurements are extremely difficult to see because the lid is such a dark color.) On further examination, you will find that for a regular load, according to the lines in the cap, you only need 1/2 of a cap, and just a little more for large loads. There is even a third line in the cap (what’s that for???). In order to get the amount of loads stated on the detergent label, you have to fill only to the first line for each load. It is my opinion that this difficult-to-read lid measurement is a way for the manufacturers to sell more detergent just by incorrect measuring by consumers.