How Marketing Turned Frugality into a Trend
Have you noticed? The more things change, the more things stay the same. Except …. NOW they come with a catchy name and a marketing campaign.
Eons ago, my husband and I had a tiny wedding. Twenty-five people. We didn’t know 200 people, our families weren’t large, and our social sphere was modest. That tiny wedding was quiet, intimate, and exactly right for us.
Last week, I read in the New York Times about the latest wedding industry trend: the “MICRO Wedding.” Apparently, couples today are choosing intimate affairs with no more than 50 guests. They want something quiet and personal. Revolutionary, right?
Growing up, my family wasn’t wealthy. Hand-me-downs were very common in our house. My mother was an excellent seamstress, and between her creations and those passed-down clothes, I was one of the best-dressed kids in school. Later, after my “buy all the designer suits I can” phase wore off, my mother introduced me to Goodwill shopping. I’ve been a devoted consignment store hunter ever since.
So imagine my reaction when I learned about “Secondhand Sunday” (the first Sunday after American Thanksgiving), in other words, TODAY, now branded as the day to buy all your Christmas presents at thrift stores, consignment shops, and Goodwill. TRULY — a marketing stroke of genius to help people save money and reduce waste.
Nobody needs me to tell them
That America’s strongest skill is making money on absolutely anything. And I mean ABSOLUTELY anything.
“MICRO Weddings” ensure no one feels poor for having a small ceremony. Instead, couples feel intentional, sophisticated, even trendy. “Secondhand Sunday” transforms thrift shopping from necessity into conscious consumer choice, making it easier to resist fast fashion’s siren call of new, new, new.
These rebranding efforts work by removing stigma and creating permission structures for behaviours that were once called common sense. In turn, making us forget that these virtues are intrinsic and NOT dependent on marketing approval.
But here’s what troubles me
Whatever happened to the values we grew up with? Waste not, want not. Do unto others. Think before you speak. We seem to have outsourced these principles to marketing departments. We’re relying on American marketers to craft messages that make us feel cool for doing what our grandparents did without needing permission or a hashtag.
When did frugality, sustainability, and intentionality stop being virtues we learned naturally and start being trends we need to be sold?
I’m not condemning the marketing. If “Secondhand Sunday” gets more people shopping consciously, that’s a net positive. If “MICRO Weddings” help couples avoid debt for a single day, I’m all for it. The campaigns themselves aren’t the problem.
The problem is that we’ve lost the ability to value these choices without external validation. We’ve forgotten how to pass down wisdom that doesn’t come with a price tag or a brand strategy.
So here’s my question for you: What’s next?
I’m placing bets on “Leftover Luxury” — a TikTok-driven movement celebrating Tuesday night’s reheated Monday meatloaf as peak culinary sophistication. Maybe “Walk-It-Off Wednesdays” for people who discover their legs can actually transport them to destinations within a mile or a kilometre, or less. How about “Nap Maximization Coaching” for $500/hour, teaching executives the ancient art of closing their eyes for 20 minutes?
Perhaps we’ll see “Minimalist Air Travel” where flying coach is rebranded as “authentic economic immersion.” Or “Hydration Mindfulness” convincing people that tap water in a reusable bottle is a wellness breakthrough. I’m particularly excited for “Intergenerational Living Pods” — the hot new real estate trend where adult children move back home and call it “multigenerational wealth building.”
And why stop there?
“Meal Prep Mondays” could monetize the radical concept of cooking on Sunday. “Conscious Commuting” might celebrate carpooling as if Henry Ford didn’t invent the idea. “Financial Fasting” could rebrand not buying stuff you don’t need into a cleanse program, complete with apps, influencers, and premium subscription tiers.
The real question isn’t what marketers will rebrand next. The real question is whether or not we can remember and teach that these choices have value on their own, without needing permission or a trend.
That could be the business opportunity some of us should be pursuing. Rather than spinning gold from common sense, we help people reconnect with the wisdom they already possess!
What do you think is coming next? And more importantly, are you laughing or crying?