Writing Prompt: List Five Retailers that Feature Pop Culture in Packaging

Week #2 – The emerging trends of pop culture

Today is the last day of our week discussing pop culture in emerging trends. A great way to finish off this week is by talking about one of the most visual things that retailers do to attract customers, encourage sales, and stay on top of emerging trends – – adding oomph to packaging. Your job is to list five retailers that feature pop culture in packaging and describe how that packaging makes it easier for people to follow emerging trends.

Creative Idea Gal’s Thoughts

If there is one thing I love, it is good visuals. I’m a sucker for eye candy, always enjoying the newness of the designs I see on the Internet and in my travels. One of the things that sticks out frequently is the packaging I see in retail stores. There is a lot of clever packaging out there and I’m just the person to spot it.

Perhaps the cleverest of the bunch is McDonald’s, who has always been at the forefront of both controversy and innovation. McDonald’s is unique because it is both traditional and current in its approach. The tradition is in the types of foods it offers, the modern touch is in its marketing. Have you noticed how smart McDonald’s is in tying in its food offerings and especially, the kids meals, with movies and current events?

If you ever go to McDonald’s, try to catch a glimpse at the kids meals food boxes, the regular McDonald’s bags, and in some cases, the boxes and bags that contain individual food items. Most often, the packaging is loaded with pop culture and offers instant clues to emerging trends!

Tips on How to Spark Creativity in Writing

• Tip #6 – Create your own Internet memes based on observation

After talking about pop culture memes and Internet memes all week, hopefully by now, you’ll understand how to distinguish memes if you see them. Besides spotting memes as emerging trends, you can also invent them! Remember, a meme is an idea that gets shared over and over again until it becomes popular. Who’s to say you can’t create your own?
I suggest you create Internet memes based on your own distinctive observations of the world around you. What strikes you about the world of pop culture? Anything special? By creating your own meme, you are inventing original ideas that are sure to get shared. You are also effectively setting yourself up for some great, original writing!

Emerging Trends on Twitter

Here is a sampling of yesterday’s emerging trends based on Twitter hashtags:

• #SharkNado (Shark movie on the SyFy cable channel)
• #Pran (Bollywood actor who recently passed away)
• #TweerYourFriendshipInAPicture (a humorous typo – – should have been tweet instead of tweer)
• #ConfessionNight (people feel compelled to share personal confessions about themselves)

Writing Prompt 081

Prompt: List five retailers that feature pop culture in packaging

• Step 1: There is pop culture in all kinds of packaging, from food to home goods, to clothes. Start looking around!
• Step 2: Try to visit a few different brick-and-mortar stores without intending to buy anything. Do some serious window shopping and look. Do you see pop culture moments captured in the packaging?
• Step 3: List five retailers that feature pop culture in packaging. I mentioned the example of McDonald’s as one of the best retailers to feature pop culture in its packaging. But there are so many more. Think of five, list them, and describe how the packaging helps us track emerging trends.

Please be sure to leave comments about this writing prompt. We want to hear from you!

About the Author

Amanda M. Socci is the creator of this unique 10-month training program providing writing prompts to nonfiction writers. Amanda is a diehard creative and an aspiring book author, currently blogging a book on faith, A Slice of Faith, on a community website. Visit Amanda’s blog. Follow Amanda on her journey to book publication. Like A Slice of Faith on Facebook.