Abstract:

When you got up this morning did you really think about what specific pair of underwear you put on? Sure, now I am asking you can think of good pragmatic reasons. But have you really thought about why the underwear in your drawer got there. Marketers and researchers are good at asking a lot of questions about current activities but we are pretty poor at considering that the reasons products are segmented, marketed and purchased has more to do with technology and social history. This presentation may be entertaining, who would not laugh at a lot of jockey and briefs advertising. But there is also a wake-up call that as we celebrate a milestone in the history of market research we might want to spend more time thinking about history and its influence.