Recent years have witnessed galloping updating of consumer goods. Accordingly, when manufacturers promote their products in adverts, they specify the novelty of those updated models. There are apparent reasons for this trend, and in general it is a negative development.
Obviously, a new feature is considered to be a selling point. Advertisers stress the feature in the hope that a product would sell better for its newness. The emphasis is to send a message that there is something different and new that is worth attention and purchase. A new feature may also be a competitive advantage, and it needs to be advertised. When a manufacturer develops a new function, a new design—even a small detail, or a new look—a new color or new packaging, the purpose is to give consumers better user experience, thereby making the product better competing with the rival products on the market.
Although the reasons make sense, this kind of advertising act may be of little benefit to consumers. The new feature, which is intended to win the competition and to arouse consumers’ desire to buy the product, may be unpragmatic or valueless. Consumers overwhelmed with those advertisements may end up buying things they do not really need and feel disappointed, deceived or humiliated. This trend is negative also because it encourages consumerism. Since such advertising is to excite the consumers who view or read the ads and take advantage of their impulse, it may create needs that are not genuine and provokes wants that are excess. Any consumption as a result of this may be dangerous.