iKvetch - Why We Complain About Cutting Edge Brands

An interesting post on Core77 caught my attention today.

Here's the post:

"iWant, therefore iComplain
Posted by: hipstomp on Monday, October 29 2007

Maybe we're crazy, but we think the following might contain a lesson for product designers vis-a-vis human desire.

Apple is widely recognized as selling people easy-to-use products that they actually want, but these products are often attacked relentlessly in forums and online chatter. Did you ever notice that when people criticize Apple products, it often starts "I love the [iGadget] but..."? Seems to us people never used to complain about products in this way.

Our theory is that when you give people what they want, they actually complain more than they did when they were simply putting up with whatever was doled out to them. It's kind of like you're in the Soviet Union circa 1985 standing in line for 220-grit toilet paper, then you get whisked to a 2007 supermarket where there's aisles upon aisles of soft, fluffy Charmin, and suddenly you want the Jumbo roll so you don't have to replace it as often, and you want a coupon to pay for it."

I was intrigued so I decided to ask Ernie Schenk, who just has a really smart way of looking at marketing and advertising concepts.

Here's his response:

"Young creative team starts winning awards.

Alright brother! Good for those guys. Everyone loves them. They’re cool.

A year goes by. Same thing. Same team cleans up.  Hooooray!  We love you guys!  Hugs and kisses all around.

A third year. They do it again! Little less applause. Not so many hugs and kisses.

This goes on. The team keeps winning. Fundamental shift point.  Or tipping point, whatever.  People are still in awe of the team, but they’re not such big fans anymore. 
Why? Because the team got too big for its britches. Too successful. 

We love success as a culture. But only to a point."

So, our excitement with Apple and all it's wondrous glory has maybe hit a tipping point and we demand vastly more from such icons of perfection and greatness in design. Indeed when you give people what they want, they are only more alert to what little flaws might still be left.