A Parisian in Boston

Economics of Engagement Rings

Claire — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:24:41 +0000

I am currently doing a project on Tiffany & Co for my Communications Planning class. I discovered that the Tiffany Setting has been the first engagement ring created in 1886. The stories about the engagement ring concept are amazing and full of love etc etc. BUT (there is always a but) I came across this really funny article by Norman Chan about the sexist economics of engagement rings. I have to share it!

Diamonds are forever, but the meaning of the diamond engagement ring has changed dramatically in the last century. Today’s symbol of love was once something more like virginity insurance.

Why do men buy diamond rings for our fiancées? There’s the emotional story. We enjoy making grand gestures of commitment to the people we love. Behind that, there’s the marketing story. DeBeers’ historic ad campaign, crafted by the real-life mad men at N.W. Ayers, convinced generations of lovers that diamond bands were synonymous with eternal devotion. But behind that, there is economic story that is just as important and fascinating.

Once upon a time, diamond rings weren’t just gifts. They were, frankly, virginity insurance.

A now-obsolete law called the “Breach of Promise to Marry” once allowed women to sue men for breaking off an engagement. Back then, there was a high premium on women being virgins when they married — or at least when they got engaged. Surveys from the 1940s show that roughly half of engaged couples reported being intimate before the big day. If the groom-to-be walked out after he and the bride-to-be had sex, that left her in a precarious position. From a social angle, she had been permanently “damaged.” From an economic angle, she had lost her market value. So Breach of Promise to Marry was born.

But in the 1930s, states began striking down the “Breach of Promise to Marry” law. By 1945, 16 states representing nearly half of the nation’s population had made Breach of Promise a historical relic. At the same time, the diamond engagement ring began its transformation from decorative to de rigueur. Legal scholar Margaret Brinig doesn’t think that’s a coincidence, and she has the math to prove it. Regressing the percent of people living in states without Breach of Promise against a handful of other variables — including advertising, per capita income and the price of diamonds — Brinig found that this legal change was actually the most significant factor in the rise of the diamond engagement ring. It’s historically plausible. The initial mini-surge in diamond imports came in 1935, four years before DeBeers launched its celebrated advertising campaign. What’s going on here?

Let’s think like an economist. An engaged couple aren’t all that different from a borrower and a lender. The woman is lending her hand in marriage to the man, who promises to tie the knot at a later date. In the days of Breach of Promise, the woman would do this on an unsecured basis — that is, the man didn’t have to pledge any collateral — because the law provided her something akin to bankruptcy protection. Put simply, if the man didn’t fulfill his obligation to marry, the woman had legal recourse. This calculus changed once the law changed. Suddenly, women wanted an upfront financial assurance from their men. Basically, collateral. That way, if the couple never made it down the aisle, she’d at least be left with something. And that something was almost always small and shiny. The diamond ring was insurance.

So, should a jilted bride give back the engagement ring? Today, the answer is often yes. But back when rings first came into vogue, part of the point was that she wouldn’t. It was a security against a default on the engagement. The good news is that this seems so alien to us today. Women have their own careers. They earn more degrees. And, for the younger generation, they out-earn men. More importantly, the stigma against premarital sex has disappeared. A broken engagement isn’t a lasting financial disaster for a woman like it was before. The diamond engagement ring has itself undergone a transformation. It’s no longer a security. It’s just about signaling nowadays. It’s anachronistic. But don’t try telling your girlfriend that.

The secret in the Lego Print Ad

Claire — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:07:01 +0000

Lego just released a great campaign letting the audience who are the characters on the ads.

Do you have an idea?

Mini thanks its drivers for the 10th Birthday of the Brand in Canada

Claire — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:09:26 +0000

Last week Mini Canada owners were shown some red-light love with impromptu birthday celebrations in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to celebrate the car co’s 10th anniversary in Canada.

When a Mini Canada driver pulled up to a stoplight, a street team from Taxi 2 and Smak Toronto surrounded the car and busted out a small party, complete with streamers, balloons and music. Once the party was over (when the light turned green), the driver was given a commemorative keychain to thank them for taking part in the celebration.

The celebrations were launched as a way to thank as many Mini Canada drivers as possible for owning the car.

“We started talking about thanking each individual Mini driver personally and then thought, what about going out and trying to thank them one car at a time,” he says. “I guess we could have sent an email blast but we wanted to do something personal.”

Source

World’s first all-diamond ring

Claire — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:42:33 +0000

The swiss Jeweler Shawish unveiled the first ring carved entirely out of a 150-carat diamond after an entire year of work.

If it’s the ring of your dreams you can have it for just… $68 million!

Dogs at work

Claire — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:12:27 +0000

During my job hunt, I have seen different perks in several different companies. The one I am the most attracted in is the “Dog at Work Day“. I believe it is a great initiative that companies should extend to having dogs at work every day.

17% of US including Google and Amazon already took the step of allowing pets at work everyday. What refrain others?

A study conducted by the Central Michigan University, mentioned by The Economist, shows that dog presence makes people collaborate more efficiently.

Even if it may be seen as a distraction, the benefits of allowing dogs at work are broadly known. Dogs are the Men’s best friends for a reason. Dogs make people happy, ease tensions and enhance creativity.

With dogs at work the absenteeism is lower and people work longer hours. Dogs allow employees to take a break. People like me who don’t smoke and don’t drink coffee often don’t take a break. Taking breaks improve productivity and dogs are a good alibi to do so.

I don’t own a dog yet, it is one of my wishes for the future. But for the moment I don’t want to adopt one because both me and my boyfriend are about to start our career with long hours, week end at work etc. I don’t want my dog to get bored at home while I am working and I want to enjoy its presence.

So employers have a look to this book and welcome pets at the office!

Boston Blackout!

Claire — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:55:55 +0000

For the first time of my life I am experiencing a blackout. On Tuesday March 13th a fire started in a parking in the center of Boston. (Fun fact? In Spain it’s Tuesday 13th and not Friday 13th which is considered as bad luck day.)

Following this fire a huge power outage happened in the city. So for 3 day now thousands of people are in the darkness. I am part of it and it feels very weird! After the fun of the bar night on Tuesday (the entire area around the fire had been evacuated so I went to a bar with some friends) and the candlelight dinner yesterday it’s starting being annoying. I am forced to stay out of my apartment all day long, showering at the gym, eating outside and only come home to sleep.

Well to give you some ideas of what Boston looks like in an apocalyptic situation I post some pictures! Enjoy!

Hipster Branding

Claire — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:00:51 +0000

Here are several examples of brand logos redesigned for Hipster by the blog Hipster Branding. It make me remember my post about minimalist packaging. What do you think about it?

WordPress finally add the top view by country!

Claire — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:00:16 +0000

One of the features that was really missing in wordpress.com was the country of origin of the reader. This just pop up on my dashboard and I am really impressed how broad my blog is!

I though my readers were mainly my friends both here in the US and in France but the truth really takes my breath away and I would like to thanks all my readers from all over the world for reading my blog. And thank you WordPress for this information I may try to write in different languages just to fullfil the deepest needs of my dear readers!

Here is a map and a list of my readers lately. 50 countries! Amazing isn’t it?

Moderate noise for higher creativity

Claire — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:44:22 +0000

According to a research by both the University of Illinois and the University of Virginia, a moderate background noise around 70 decibels increase the creativity. Indeed, this study shows that this limited noise makes mental processing more difficult, which activates abstract cognition and therefore enhances creative performance.

So what noise should you listen to in order to increase your creativity? 70 decibels can be: average radio, street noise,vacuum cleaner…

Source: WSJ

Yes, soap advertising is a big deal in France

Claire — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:00:55 +0000

In Global Advertising class on Feb 29th we studied the Cleopatra Case and had a debate about the brand TV ad

Everyone was shocked by the grandiloquence of this ad, thinking that it was definitely too much for a soap. I explained that in Europe this would be seen as a good ad.

2 reasons:

First due to our Mediterranean origins we know everything about Cleopatra and her habits to have donkey milk bath in order to have the most beautiful skin. We also know the jokes about her nose that may have change the face of the world if it had be different.

Second, in France we are use to huge soap ads, as you can see in the samples below.

What do you think? Should the brands produce fancier soap ad in North America? After all everyone love the Old Spice ad!