Fifty years ago, Burger King introduced a new concept to American consumers: “Have it your way.”
What started as an advertising campaign to differentiate Burger King from competitors, mainly McDonald’s, by offering people the chance to order a hamburger to their specs began a trend that has radically amped consumers’ desire for individuality at almost any cost.
Ad executive Paul Venn, who created ads and ad strategies for U.S. automakers for the past several decades, says the Burger King strategy was genius; an entirely new business platform that now includes mobile phones and social media in the mix.
“If companies and their brands do not offer customization, they better watch out,” Venn says.
We might ask ourselves if this drive for radical distinction may be why Americans complain we are exhausted and polarized from others. Angling to have it our way may be why we are wearing ourselves out; everyone has such a strong sense of wanting to be an individual, particularly younger consumers.
You can see the offshoots of this impulse everywhere, not just in consumerism but also in our politics, schools, civic and business cultures. The majority in the U.S. prefer an a la carte life where we want it our way.
One place where this American attitude is plainly on display is with customized coffee drinks. With more than 170,000 ways to adapt a drink, coffee store giant Starbucks is reportedly stretched to keep ahead of trends and may have reached a challenge beyond capacity moment with customization. The company is on its fourth CEO in two years.
A recent piece in the New York Times puts a fine point on this topic. “A drink is a status thing,” said Josiah Varghese, a Starbucks barista in Roselle, Illinois, who shares his intricate creations with his 1.8 million followers on TikTok. “People are able to carry it around and show people: This is me.”
My trouble with our have-it-your-way culture isn’t a daily Frappuccino. It is the bleeding of individual entitlement that’s hurting communities and distracting Americans from commonalities. We are a nation of single-minded consumers, and we’re growing into a no-compromise philosophy that’s dividing us.
But fatigued or not, new ideas are the engine for advancement; that’s also the American way. Maybe, though, we might try and refocus some of that spirit into a broader collective view and insist on innovation into big ideas that will better personkind. Such as more support for investments and new thinking for ways for curbing carbon gas in our environment or needed cures for cancer and other deadly diseases.
My argument is, do we want to live in a culture where we require nearly 200,000 coffee drink versions? We likely only need some of those custom drinks.
Yet Americans always seem to find a way to rearrange personal budgets if an item is worth it to them. So if a daily $7.00 Frappé Burst is your thing, you will find the money to buy it and enjoy it and let that order speak for you. All the while reinforcing the theme we are no longer just a hot cup of black coffee nation.
The original ad strategy from Burger King is a lasting hit. It foreshadowed what has become a hypermarket evolution where demands for choice, control and customization are commerce and societal basics.
I am not sure there is an off-ramp for a philosophy that is so ingrained in our culture, for better or worse.