Thought Bytes...
December 2002

Ergonomic Marketing

I thought the fad had died out. For a few years, the term "ergonomic" was applied to all kinds of consumer products. Ergonomic pop bottles, ergonomic shovels, ergonomic celery, ergonomic toothbrushes, ergonomic fries and rings holders.... the list goes on. It had been at least a year since I heard "ergonomic" in commercials. And then came the Christmas marketing blitz.

The product I heard being referred to as "ergonomic" was a pair of fancy pliers. After hearing all about the wonderful things that these pliers could do to make your home renovation project easier, the commercial writers had to throw in that it had "ergonomic" handles. There was no explanation of what they meant by that statement. Obviously the label "ergonomic" was supposed to complete the sale.

In the ergonomics community, the label "ergonomic" usually means add 15% to the price. There is no criteria by which marketing can use the label ergonomic. They are usually trying to claim that there are design elements that will help improve performance and possibly reduce the risk of injury. By that criteria, I can call my tea cup an ergonomic cup. I drink a lot of tea - the little bit of caffeine may improve my performance and having to go to the bathroom reduces the risk of injury from sitting at the computer for too long.

I rarely refer to a product as "ergonomic". I type on a split keyboard, not an ergonomic keyboard. I use a headset telephone, not an ergonomic telephone. My chair is adjustable with good lumbar and upper back support, not an ergonomic chair. If I refer to the time device on the wall as an ergonomic clock - what would I mean? Each person might think of something different. One might think it was digital. Another analogue. Another illuminated. Another multiple time zones. In general, the public doesn't know how to interpret the label "ergonomic".

In contrast, it was refreshing to see a commercial this autumn where a rake with an angled / contorted handle was being promoted. In the past, it would have been touted as an "ergonomic rake". But, the salesperson simply said: "This one makes it easier". In the pliers commercial, I think that they were trying to say that the handles were contoured and padded to improve grip and decrease pressure points. They would probably have sold more by stating those points, instead of calling it "ergonomic".

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