Why did traditional shaving die out in America but not in Europe?

A Bangladeshi shaving once a week in a bowl of water with bar soap on the dirt floor isnt interested in a Fusion Proglide.  If I were in their position, neither would I.

Next time I visit Bangladesh (I am from Bangladesh), I will make a video shaving a week's growth in a bowl of water with a bar soap on a dirt floor with a Fusion Proglide . And I will post it here!

If I sounded condescending, I apologize. Wasnt my intention, but only using an impoverished portion of our society as an example of how Gillette is looking to wring every last dollar from men. If a poor market cant bear a new, slightly more expensive product, they move it in a wealthier market. If you were'nt offended, then I apologize for my apology. If you were poking fun at me, then I can roll with that too. If you do make a video, make sure to pm me or somehow let me know.

In addition, and this is the most important, Gillette doesnt market or introduce a new shaving system to a market unless their analysts feel that the market can support it. read-discretionary spending and money.

I'm not sure there is even 'market research'.

I'm thinking it's more of 'OMG my patent is about to expire and competitors can copy. So let's make something new while we still have market share and stop advertising the old one and push the new one and hope everyone migrates to the new-hotness and gets rid of the old handle so generic guys dont have any incentive for making a copy'...

If you notice the new cartridges are not priced that out if line from the old ones and there are always coupons floating around for the new carts that generally make them cheaper than the old one and the average consumer gets suckered into the new 'system'.

Business thrive on repeat customers. Not the one time sale.  and by 'discounting' the new system they ensure that the average consumers switches over and in the proccess let's the old system die a slow death before copies come on the market.

On this Glory I'd have to disagree with you. They do have National and International teams of market analysts that study the markets to plan and execute new system sales based on disposable income and what the market will bear. When a company can make a product for less than 50 cents and sell it for over 5 dollars a piece, (not including shipping to location and advertising) they stand to make healthy profits if done correctly. And by golly they do their homework, and nailed it all they way up to the '08 recession. I agree with you on your next 2 points. The next new system is always slightly more money than the last, and with coupons and intro pricing, the sting doesnt hurt ... at first. On the repeat customers, much has been said about the Gillette sales model and how they perfected the repeat customers by producing something that was "designed for the trash" wherein the 5 dollar cart head was designed with a specific life span, after which it gets trashed. Thereby creating in you a perpetual need for more carts to buy.

I did make a post that has since disappeared into obscurity that I noticed new TV ads for the old Mach 3 heads. Those analysts must have noticed that men are either dropping the overpriced new crap for older cheaper models, or bailing entirely for other shaving methods. (remember the '08 recession I mentioned?) I think their main objective it to back up and recapture lost customers from the last successful system the consumer probly used, and slowly reintroduce them back to the new stuff. Now this view is mostly conjecture but I am sensitive to gentle manipulation and it tickles my conspiracy nerve so I actively resist it. If only to find out why I am being manipulated.

I accept your apology for apologizing.

Uzi,
I havent studied or read up on Bernays like I said I would, but I do still intend to.
But a short note on advertising that I do know. It is designed to instill apathy and loathing in the viewer where the consumer is less than, or lower than they should be. The viewer now feels inferior when compared to their peers and drives them to make the purchase thereby soothing the apathy. I dont know if that is in Bernays teachings, but it was taught to me.



So on the Fusion Proglide, I want to shave while rock climbing and canoeing. Once I get my razor, now I just have to learn how to rock climb, and go rent/buy a canoe Then I can be as virile as the man in the commercial.

Uzi,
I havent studied or read up on Bernays like I said I would, but I do still intend to.

You don't need to read a book or look him up. Just listen to this podcast. These guys explain him well

http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcas...ons-works/

They cover most of it from Bacon (its good to eat in the morning) to 90 out of 100 doctors prefer Marlboros to other cigarettes to the herd mentality. Its also fascinating how advertising used to be you kept stuff until it broke but now you buy a new one cause its new and improved!

Uzi,
I havent studied or read up on Bernays like I said I would, but I do still intend to.
But a short note on advertising that I do know. It is designed to instill apathy and loathing in the viewer where the consumer is less than, or lower than they should be. The viewer now feels inferior when compared to their peers and drives them to make the purchase thereby soothing the apathy. I dont know if that is in Bernays teachings, but it was taught to me.



So on the Fusion Proglide, I want to shave while rock climbing and canoeing. Once I get my razor, now I just have to learn how to rock climb, and go rent/buy a canoe  Then I can be as virile as the man in the commercial.

Bernays developed techniques for influencing public opinion that have been perfected over time. It is quite different from advertising, which targets specific audiences to induce them to purchase a specific product or service. Propaganda or Public Relations, as it is now called, aims to create beliefs and opinions in the population at large, that make them more inclined to behave in some chosen manner. For example, eating fat is bad for you right? Eating foods that are high in cholesterol will cause your cholesterol levels to rise making one more likely to have a heart attack right? Once these ideas spread (it doesn't matter whether they are true or not, only that people become aware of it and believe it) people become more inclined to modify their behavior in some chosen direction. You will notice for example, that since the introduction of fat-free foods and diet foods, that the rate of obesity in the U. S. has risen rather than fallen. It turns out that fat-free food doesn't taste good, so sugars are added to make it sweeter. Thus rather than losing weight, people gain weight. That doesn't matter. What matters is that people will continue to consume low-fat diet foods. They may wonder why they don't lose weight, but they assume it must be hormonal or hereditary because they are, after all, eating fat-free diet food.

Who is going to argue that when 9 out of 10 doctors say "This, that or the other is healthy", it actually isn't? Who is going to doubt that the "consensus of scientists" is hokum? Once one modifies the beliefs and behavior patterns of large segments of the population, only then can advertising and marketing be truly effective in inducing people to buy goods that they would have otherwise ignored or shunned.

Who is going to argue that when 9 out of 10 doctors say "This, that or the other is healthy", it actually isn't?  Who is going to doubt that the "consensus of scientists" is hokum?  

That's why I like the Bacon thing best. Convince the public Bacon is meant for breakfast when it was NOT traditionally eaten at breakfast.

Convince the public they NEED to buy a new 4K TV although no major network transmits in 4K!

It did die out in Scandinavia - so don't agree at all. Only during the last 2-3 years have you started to see shaving cream and soaps pop up in actual shops.

In even the biggest super markets you will not find any kind of shaving cream nor soap.

Nothing.

Traditional shaving is making a come back, must be a reason so many people are turning to it over the new and better speed machines.

I think an awful lot of it is the materialism. People like to buy things. The younger folk don't know it, but they like to buy things of quality as well. They're accustomed to our throwaway, disposable culture, but a part of them thirsts for quality and durability, not just design. Almost nothing in their lives is a constant. Within a few years, everything they own will be in need of an update. Trends and technology move so quickly now. Shaving can be part of a dwindling foundation. It indeed seems strange to me, but it also makes a lot of sense. There's a lot more satisfaction, and joy, in buying wet shaving gear than grabbing a bag of disposables and a can of foam for a couple bucks.

I think an awful lot of it is the materialism.  People like to buy things.  

Nope, thats the Bacon thing or the Bernays effect. Prior to Bernays, the American consumer did not buy things. They kept products, particularly durable goods, until they broke. They didn't buy new products because they were New and Improved. Listen to the How Stuff Works podcast on Public Relations (aka propoganda). After Bernays, he pretty much convinced everyone they had to buy stuff because it was new.

I'm not convinced everyone is materialistic. I am convinced that propaganda (i.e., public relations) sells to easily influence people. The proof is everywhere.

I think an awful lot of it is the materialism.  People like to buy things.  

Nope, thats the Bacon thing or the Bernays effect. Prior to Bernays, the American consumer did not buy things. They kept products, particularly durable goods, until they broke. They didn't buy new products because they were New and Improved. Listen to the How Stuff Works podcast on Public Relations (aka propoganda). After Bernays, he pretty much convinced everyone they had to buy stuff because it was new.

I'm not convinced everyone is materialistic. I am convinced that propaganda (i.e., public relations) sells to easily influence people. The proof is everywhere.

I was responding to why it is experiencing a rebirth now, not as to why it lost steam in the past.