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> Except consumers can understand toothpaste flavors. Can we? Here's the currently available US flavors / varieties of ONE brand, Colgate: Advanced White

by addaon 4y ago

> Except consumers can understand toothpaste flavors. Can we? Here's the currently available US flavors / varieties of ONE brand, Colgate: Advanced White Charcoal Toothpaste Advanced White Toothpaste Anti-Tartar + Whitening Toothpaste Cavity Protection Toothpaste Charcoal Natural Extracts Charcoal Toothpaste Colgate Baby Toothpaste 0-2 years Colgate Kids Magic Toothpaste 6-9 years Colgate Kids Toothpaste 3-5 years Cool Stripe Toothpaste Deep Clean With Baking Soda Toothpaste Elixir Cool Detox Toothpaste Elixir Gum Booster Toothpaste Elixir White Restore Toothpaste Gum Invigorate Detox Toothpaste Gum Invigorate Toothpaste Max Fresh Cooling Crystals Toothpaste Max White & Protect Whitening Toothpaste Max White Charcoal Whitening Toothpaste Max White Crystals Whitening Toothpaste Max White Expert Anti-Stain Whitening Toothpaste Max White Expert Complete Whitening Toothpaste Max White Expert Original Whitening Toothpaste Max White Expert Shine Glossy Mint Whitening Toothpaste Max White Extra Care Enamel Protect Whitening Toothpaste Max White Extra Care Sensitive Protect Whitening Toothpaste Max White Luminous Whitening Toothpaste Max White One Whitening Toothpaste Max White Optic Whitening Toothpaste Max White Sparkle Diamonds Whitening Toothpaste Max White Ultimate Catalyst Whitening Toothpaste Max White Ultimate Renewal Whitening Toothpaste Max White Ultra Active Foam Toothpaste Max White Ultra Freshness Pearls Toothpaste Maximum Cavity Protection 3+ Kids' Toothpaste Maximum Cavity Protection Fresh Mint Toothpaste Maximum Cavity Protection Toothpaste Nature IQ Enamel Repair Toothpaste PerioGard Gum Protection + Sensitive Toothpaste PerioGard Gum Protection Toothpaste Sensitive Instant Relief Enamel Repair Sensitive Instant Relief Enamel Repair Toothpaste Sensitive Instant Relief Multiprotection Sensitive Instant Relief Repair & Prevent Sensitive Instant Relief Whitening Sensitive Sensifoam Multi Protection Toothpaste Sensitive With Sensifoam Toothpaste Total Active Fresh Toothpaste Total Advanced Clean Gel Toothpaste Total Advanced Deep Clean Toothpaste Total Advanced Enamel Health Toothpaste Total Advanced Gum Care Total Advanced Pure Breath Toothpaste Total Advanced Sensitive Care Total Original Toothpaste Total Plaque Protection Toothpaste Total Visible Proof Toothpaste Total Whitening Toothpaste Triple Action Original Mint Toothpaste I'm an adult male. My dentist has not informed me of any particular concerns. I wouldn't mind my teeth being a bit whiter. Which of these am I supposed to buy? Or am I supposed to buy a product from one of the other brands of the same manufacturer... Elmex, Meridol, several others, each of which has their own outrageously long lineups. Or look at a different manufacturer?

antisthenes 4y ago
You're obviously supposed to conduct a double-blind longitudinal study over the course of many years, with at least 30 participants in each group, for every single sub-brand you listed. Also, make sure there's no conflict of interest at any point in the studies.
roughly 4y ago
One of my professors described Toothbrush buying as the absolute most pathological case for the Paradox of Choice: dozens of ostensibly differentiated products, all in basically the same price range, all basically affordable, with no real way as a consumer to discern their efficacy or quality. You'll use the product for the next 6 months to a year, and if you pick the wrong one, your breath will stink, your teeth will fall out, and you'll need expensive surgery.
- sph 4y ago
  If your teeth fall out after 6 months of bad toothpaste, perhaps you should stop eating sugar and drinking battery acid :)
  - raisin_churn 4y ago
    On the other hand, if you've been eating sugar and drinking battery acid all along and your teeth haven't fallen out yet, please let me know what kind of toothpaste you've been using.
- spr93 4y ago
  What were they a professor of? I don't see a paradox of choice here; none of those Colgate products, or anything else sitting on the shelf that's ADA accepted, is going to rot your teeth. It is, however, a classic result of oligopoly. Oligopolists compete among themselves--and, more importantly, prevent entry from newcomers--by hyper differentiating their products. The "artificial" product differentiation also makes comparison-shopping harder and softens price competition between the oligopolists. It's a really fascinating, kind of counter-intuitive, but well known dynamic. E.g., Crest offers a slightly differentiated product--"gleaming white plus plus" or whatever--and Colgate responds with "extra pearly white super plus." Or a newcomer tries to sell "natural something," so the oligopolists introduce "natural stuff" and "pure friendly paste" to prevent customers that like the sound of "natural" from defecting to the newcomer. Hotels are the classic case. Hilton and Marriott have tons of brands. Take extended stays for example. Marriott has three extended-stay hotel brands. No one thinks extended-stay hotel customers started a letter-writing campaign to Marriot saying, "I really want an extended-stay hotel that's just like Residence Inn, but with a different color combination. That's where you should invest your money. I don't need nicer furniture or lower prices, thank you. Just give me the new color scheme, thanks." The dynamic is a counterintuitive feature of oligopolies, but it's very well known. But academia is hyper-specialized, so, yeah, everyone sees their own pet theory in everything.

by addaon 4y ago

antisthenes 4y ago

You're obviously supposed to conduct a double-blind longitudinal study over the course of many years, with at least 30 participants in each group, for every single sub-brand you listed. Also, make sure there's no conflict of interest at any point in the studies.

roughly 4y ago

One of my professors described Toothbrush buying as the absolute most pathological case for the Paradox of Choice: dozens of ostensibly differentiated products, all in basically the same price range, all basically affordable, with no real way as a consumer to discern their efficacy or quality. You'll use the product for the next 6 months to a year, and if you pick the wrong one, your breath will stink, your teeth will fall out, and you'll need expensive surgery.

sph 4y ago
If your teeth fall out after 6 months of bad toothpaste, perhaps you should stop eating sugar and drinking battery acid :)
- raisin_churn 4y ago
  On the other hand, if you've been eating sugar and drinking battery acid all along and your teeth haven't fallen out yet, please let me know what kind of toothpaste you've been using.
spr93 4y ago
What were they a professor of? I don't see a paradox of choice here; none of those Colgate products, or anything else sitting on the shelf that's ADA accepted, is going to rot your teeth. It is, however, a classic result of oligopoly. Oligopolists compete among themselves--and, more importantly, prevent entry from newcomers--by hyper differentiating their products. The "artificial" product differentiation also makes comparison-shopping harder and softens price competition between the oligopolists. It's a really fascinating, kind of counter-intuitive, but well known dynamic. E.g., Crest offers a slightly differentiated product--"gleaming white plus plus" or whatever--and Colgate responds with "extra pearly white super plus." Or a newcomer tries to sell "natural something," so the oligopolists introduce "natural stuff" and "pure friendly paste" to prevent customers that like the sound of "natural" from defecting to the newcomer. Hotels are the classic case. Hilton and Marriott have tons of brands. Take extended stays for example. Marriott has three extended-stay hotel brands. No one thinks extended-stay hotel customers started a letter-writing campaign to Marriot saying, "I really want an extended-stay hotel that's just like Residence Inn, but with a different color combination. That's where you should invest your money. I don't need nicer furniture or lower prices, thank you. Just give me the new color scheme, thanks." The dynamic is a counterintuitive feature of oligopolies, but it's very well known. But academia is hyper-specialized, so, yeah, everyone sees their own pet theory in everything.