This is a bigger trend in contemporary consumer desires...
I picked up the last two remaining bottles of Dawn with the old scent at the store yesterday. I actually don't use Dawn for handwashing dishes, but I love it for wiping down and cleaning appliances and many other things. I do find the new scent to be sickening sweet, but sweet and bold smells and flavors are the name of the game in today's marketplace.
They have amped up the scents in many detergents, even marketing detergents that have powerful, long-lasting scents (e.g. Gain). All these scent beads and additives for the sole purpose of boosting the smell of your laundry. The smell of just being clean isn't enough - it needs to smell like something.
Starbucks really doesn't sell coffee anymore. Most of what is going out the door is super high-calorie sugary sweet drinks that contain a little coffee, and a lot of flavorings, whipped toppings, and other highly flavorful additives. Look at Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's and other places that do high volume coffee. Few people just get a regular old cup of coffee that tastes like coffee. More sweet, more flavor, more everything. This what younger people want.
I'm seeing ads for cars and trucks where the lead sales feature of the vehicle is the size (now up to 17 inches in some cases) of the dashboard screen. They don't talk about horsepower, safety, performance, etc. The most important thing is the screens and the technology that those screens connect to. It's not about the experience of driving. Actually, applications for driver's licenses for 16 year-olds has been on the decline for years now. If younger people have to drive out of necessity, then the vehicle needs to be part of their life experience, which is in large part their phones.
Going forward, everything needs to be an extension of our phones. And because the devices (phones mostly) are now so integrated with the act of living, so much of what is being experienced is done so virtually. Spend some time on TikTok, Instagram, or other platforms. The imagery that gets the most views/likes are those things which are over-the-top, extraordinary. Being bombarded with these images transfers into our expectations in the real world. So what satisfied consumers prior to the digital revolution isn't enough now. Attention spans are short, and expectations are high.
With sugar consumption at it's highest peak in history, it's no wonder that the scents are getting stronger and sweeter. And when you smell sweet your body craves to have something sweet. Once the majority of people are dealing with diabetes (we are well on our way) the drug companies can sell even more treatments while the food industry can sell even more toxic food. Look no further than the profits of these corporations. The drug industry is now one of the leading advertisers on all media. How many ads a day do you see for drugs? I see no less than a dozen during the morning news.
If you are over 50, most consumer products are not being marketed to you or for you - with the exception of pharmaceuticals or some other health care product.
We don't have to like the new smell of Dawn - or anything else for that matter. Many of here are not their targeted demographic. My dad lived long enough to see the proliferation of the internet. He didn't understand why anyone would want to read a newspaper on a screen instead of having a printed copy to hold in your hand. He didn't understand why you would buy something online without being able to see it in person first - and he sure wasn't going to put a credit card number into any crazy computer! But he knew all these new ways of doing things were not meant for him.
I'm so sorry - I don't know why this Dawn scent thread triggered all this ranting LOL! Working in education and with young people for so many years, the changes brought on by technology have been made very clear to me and remind me of my time on the continuum of life. Technology has accelerated the changes typically inherent between generations.
Please tell me Joy still smells like lemons!!
