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Putting Fun Back In Function

Consumers are looking for ways to make ordinary products more personal and attractive. Keys, hammers, door knockers, even Swiss Army knives are no longer dull, straightforward, undecorated things. Everyday tools and objects are receiving total makeovers. Orvis sells a tool kit that includes flower-patterned pliers, scissors and utility knife. Target offers a toilet brush holder shaped like a black bear.

Georgetown University marketing professor Alan Andreasen says the trend is "an attempt by lots of people to individualize both themselves and their possessions." He equates it with "tattoos, customized cell phones and ringtones as a way to step away from mass commoditization."

Give credit to the clever marketers that have found ways to breathe life into mundane commodity categories.

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Read the whole story at The Washington Post »

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