History Main / NewAndImproved

* Many shops, when being renovated, have a sign on the outside saying something like 'Sorry for the wait. We're improving the shop for your convenience'. People who enter said improved shop rarely find anything has happened except things have been moved around. Hardly convenient.
** Even better, these "improvements" often move commonly purchased items "conveniently" to the back of the store to force customers to see other mechandise.

* Gillette is an early example of this trope. When the patents for their original razor and blade design were expiring in 1921, they came up with a new razor and called it the ''New Improved''. The old design was renamed, of course, the ''Old Type''.
* ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} had a nice DeadpanSnarker moment with this phrase.
-->"To think, all this time I've been eating old and inferior."

* The famous case of Tampax Tampons being "Improved" by putting ''fewer'' tampons in a box. This resulted in a drop in sales, and Tampax had another "New and Improved" going back to the old quantity. So for those of you keeping track at home, two improvements = no change.
* The automotive industry is the undisputed ''master'' of this trope (especially notorious among the American auto manufacturers), so much that the automotive ''publications'' industry (you know, as in ''Car & Driver'' and ''Motortrend''?) is the undisputed master at countering the automotive industry's mastery. You see, cars (much like [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars other things]]) are defined in "generations" with each "generation" being defined as having a significant improvement over the preceding one. The current model of Corvette, for example, is currently in its "Seventh generation." Because the gestation period of a new generation of a particular car model is so long (and expensive), most models go through a "mid-life update" (sometimes multiple updates) where minor and easy things are changed to at least make the car ''look'' more competitive against the truly latest generations of competing models. Of course, you would only really be aware of this from reading previously mentioned automotive publications and having them explain the deceptive terminology behind this, because, of course, the manufacturers will ''always'' pass off these "freshened" models as completely and totally 100% "redesigned" and "re-engineered" from the ground up, even when it's blatantly obvious that the most significant change to the model is minor exterior styling changes. Lately, however, the manufacturers have taken it up to the next level, blurring the lines between a truly new "generation" and "mid-life update" thanks to improved manufacturing and engineering processes which are able to make minor and cheap yet truly tangible and appreciative changes to a car model, at least from the buyer's perspective (for example, truly redesigned or enlarged interiors).
* In one that flew completely under the radar, Old El Paso, a brand primarily known for making salsa, began advertising their "New and improved zesty flavor". What they really did was doubled the salt and nothing else. Please note: "zesty" is completely meaningless.
* Legally, a product can be considered 'new and improved' if there is a 'substantial alteration in the product's performance or operation'. Usually, it's through the addition or alteration of the formula; since the formula (and thus, the product) is technically 'new' and the product itself is demonstrably 'improved', it's nearly bulletproof when it comes to advertising law.
* Parodied in the "Diamond Shreddies" advertising campaign.
* Inverted by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Munch Monster Munch]] in the UK: on their packets they advertise "[[strike: New]]Old! Bigger like they used to be! (as in 1977)".
* Walkers Crisps did this on several occasions. Nobody was able to tell the difference as most of the time, they were able to replace ingredients without the flavour significantly changing. However, there was at least one instance of them having to own up to it. They had to change the name of the flavour "Barbecue" to "Bbq Rib" because it tasted so different with the new ingredients. Many people who liked "Barbecue" also like "BBQ Rib" but think it should have been launched as a different flavour, rather than replace one of their favourites.
* Many shops, when being renovated, have a sign on the outside saying something like 'Sorry for the wait. We're improving the shop for your convenience'. People who enter said improved shop rarely find anything has happened except things have been moved around. Hardly convenient.
** Even better, these "improvements" often move commonly purchased items "conveniently" to the back of the store to force customers to see other mechandise.
* In one which is an inversion, Irn-Bru has had "Original and Best" on its cans for years, but the formula has never been substantially changed. The reason for this is that it was the first and most prominent iron brew to be produced.
** Irn-Bru 1901, which reverses all the minor changes made over the years (the one everyone focuses on is the sugar content, but more surprisingly, it doesn't contain caffeine), is even more of an inversion, declaring itself to be "Old and Unimproved".
* Inverted by ads for Shredded Wheat. "Not new. Not improved. One honest ingredient since 1892."
* Fittingly for a manufacturer whose weapons have names that sound like TV advertising jargon, ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'''s Tediore features the "New and Improved" title modifier for its line of shotguns. Aesthetically, it adds a tiny box to the side of the gun. Functionally, it provides modest but wholly positive bonuses to the gun's basic stats, making it a rare instance of where the 'improved' part of the trope title is actually an honest statement (even if the 'new' part is still a little bit shady).

* Even ''television stations'' have done this. In 1995, Canadian TV station CKVR-3, serving the town of Barrie, Ontario (about 20 kilometers away from UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}) defected from the Creator/{{CBC}} (being a privately-owned affiliate, specifically by CHUM Limited) and went independent; they also ditched the classic TV reruns that had occupied the majority of their non-CBC schedule up to that point. CHUM owned the original Creator/{{Citytv}} at the time, and their leader Moses Znaimer was brought in to oversee the retooling of the station (which included newer shows, Toronto Raptors basketball, and a vastly-expanded news operation); the result was known as ''The New VR''. The station's new image and direction was successful (one of the reasons they had done this was because they had been losing money for years, the result of being rendered redundant for CBC programming when the CN Tower's construction in the 1970s enabled the CBC flagship station from Toronto, CBLT-5, to easily reach Barrie), so successful that when CHUM swapped stations with Baton Broadcasting in 1997 (CHUM gave their ATV system of Creator/{{CTV}} affiliates in the Maritimes to Baton, so Baton could continue their takeover of CTV; in return, they got several independent stations Baton didn't need anymore; these stations had been part of Baton's BBS system), they applied the format to these new stations (CHRO in Pembroke, near Ottawa, and a cluster of stations in Southwestern Ontario: CFPL in London, CHWI in Wheatley/Windsor, and CKNX in Wingham), and each became "The New (XX)" (the last bit being where the last two call letters went). They formed a loose system of stations dubbed the "[=NewNet=]". One more station was added in 2001, CIVI in Victoria, BC (a newly-launched station, the only TV station CHUM built and signed-on themselves). These stations then became known as "A-Channel" in 2005, simply "A" in 2008 (by which point CHUM had been gobbled up by [=CTVglobemedia=], currently Bell Media), and most recently as CTV Two/2.
* The 1985 "[[UsefulNotes/PepsiChallenge New Coke]]" during the Cola wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi during TheEighties was an intent to change the old Coca-Cola's formula but it was a [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks major failure]] and was "reversed" trying the old formula back as "Coca-Cola Classic" three months later. However, the New Coke wasn't retired after all, keeping until 1992 where it was renamed as "Coke II" and just being discontinued in 2002.
* The term "New Media" itself was first used in the late 1990s by media companies to describe their then-new divisions producing or repackaging content for the Internet. It's been 15-20 years since then, during which time the Internet has for some of them become the dominant or even only medium.

-->'''Drew Carey:''' You don't get points for these round. Instead, you get the new mega-points -- they're 25% bigger and worth 50% less.

->'''Drone:''' But your highness, she's a commoner! Her Slurm will taste foul!
->'''Hive Queen:''' Yes! Which is why we'll market it as ''New Slurm''! Then, when everyone hates it, we'll bring back ''Slurm Classic'' and make BILLIONS!

* The term "New Media" itself was first used in the late 1990s by media companies to describe their then-new divisions producing or repackaging content for the Internet. It's been 15-20 years since then, during which time the Internet has for some of them become the dominant or even only medium.

If the ad is specific about what they improved, it's WeDontSuckAnymore. If the ad emphasizes that the product is still the ''same'' despite a change in its packaging, it's NewLookSameGreatTaste. May be related to AbsoluteComparative if the ad isn't specific about what makes the new product better.

* The 1985 "[[UsefulNotes/PepsiChallenge New Coke]]" during the Cola wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi during TheEighties was an intent to change the old Coca-Cola's formula but it was a [[ItChangedItNowItSucks major failure]] and was "reversed" trying the old formula back as "Coca-Cola Classic" three months later. However, the New Coke wasn't retired after all, keeping until 1992 where it was renamed as "Coke II" and just being discontinued in 2002.

* Even ''television stations'' have done this. In 1995, Canadian TV station CKVR-3, serving the town of Barrie, Ontario (about 20 kilometers away from UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}}) defected from the Creator/{{CBC}} (being a privately-owned affiliate, specifically by CHUM Limited) and went independent; they also ditched the classic TV reruns that had occupied the majority of their non-CBC schedule up to that point. CHUM owned the original Creator/{{Citytv}} at the time, and their leader Moses Znaimer was brought in to oversee the retooling of the station (which included newer shows, Toronto Raptors basketball, and a vastly-expanded news operation); the result was known as ''The New VR''. The station's new image and direction was successful (one of the reasons they had done this was because they had been losing money for years, the result of being rendered redundant for CBC programming when the CN Tower's construction in the 1970s enabled the CBC flagship station from Toronto, CBLT-5, to easily reach Barrie), so successful that when CHUM swapped stations with Baton Broadcasting in 1997 (CHUM gave their ATV system of Creator/{{CTV}} affiliates in the Maritimes to Baton, so Baton could continue their takeover of CTV; in return, they got several independent stations Baton didn't need anymore; these stations had been part of Baton's BBS system), they applied the format to these new stations (CHRO in Pembroke, near Ottawa, and a cluster of stations in Southwestern Ontario: CFPL in London, CHWI in Wheatley/Windsor, and CKNX in Wingham), and each became "The New (XX)" (the last bit being where the last two call letters went). They formed a loose system of stations dubbed the "[=NewNet=]". One more station was added in 2001, CIVI in Victoria, BC (a newly-launched station, the only TV station CHUM built and signed-on themselves). These stations then became known as "A-Channel" in 2005, simply "A" in 2008 (by which point CHUM had been gobbled up by [=CTVglobemedia=], currently Bell Media), and most recently as CTV Two/2.

* In one which is an inversion, Irn-Bru has had "Original and Best" on its cans for years, but the formula has never actually been changed. The reason for this is that it was the first and most prominent iron brew to be produced.

* Inverted by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Munch Monster Munch]] in the UK: on their packets they advertise "[[strike: New]] Old! Bigger like they used to be! (as in 1977)".

* Creator/EddieIzzard's ''Dress to Kill'' show includes a bit where a finicky cat dubiously inspects his food and its "new and improved" sales pitch.

* In one which is an inversion, Irn Bru has had Original And Best on its cans for years, but the formula has never actually been changed. The reason for this is that it was the first and most prominent iron brew to be produced.

A [[WeaselWords Weasel Word]] which attempts to give the impression of radical improvement in the quality or performance of a product which might not actually be there. In fact, US government regulations require only that there be a small functional change in a product ''or its packaging'' to qualify it to use this description. Thus, changing the design for the spout on a box of detergent would allow the manufacturer to tout it as being "new and improved". Changing the quantity of the product can also be a "new and improved" change, even if the change isn't in the direction that would qualify as an "improvement" for anyone except the manufacturer's accountants. Your favorite cereal might become "new and improved" when they increase the size of the box but decrease the amount of cereal in the box. Your favorite shampoo might become "new and improved" when they add a strong fragrance that makes your hair smell awful - or, worse, makes you sneeze.

* Inverted by [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_Munch Monster Munch]] in the UK: on their packets they advertise "[[strike: New]] Old! Bigger like they used to be! (as in 1977)"

* Fittingly for a manufacturer whose weapons have names that sound like TV advertising jargon, ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'''s Tediore features the "New and Improved" title modifier for its line of shotguns. Aesthetically, it adds a tiny box to the side of the gun. Functionally, it provides modest but wholly positive bonuses to the gun's basic stats, making it a rare instance of where the 'improved' part of the trope title is actually an honest statement (even if the 'new' part is still a little bit shady).

* Fittingly for a manufacturer whose weapons have names that sound like TV advertising jargon, ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'''s Tediore features the "New and Improved" title modifier for its line of shotguns. Aesthetically, it adds a tiny box to the side of the gun. Functionally, it provides modest but wholly positive bonuses to the gun's basic stats, making it a rare instance of where the 'improved' part of the trope title is actually an honest statement (even if the 'new' part is still a little bit shady).

<<|WeaselWords|>>

* The automotive industry is the undisputed ''master'' of this trope (especially notorious among the American auto manufacturers), so much that the automotive ''publications'' industry (you know, as in ''Car & Driver'' and ''Motortrend''?) is the undisputed master at countering the automotive industry's mastery. You see, cars (much like [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars other things]]) are defined in "generations" with each "generation" being defined as having a significant improvement over the preceding one. The current model of Corvette, for example, is currently in its "sixth generation." Because the gestation period of a new generation of a particular car model is so long (and expensive), most models go through a "mid-life update" (sometimes multiple updates) where minor and easy things are changed to at least make the car ''look'' more competitive against the truly latest generations of competing models. Of course, you would only really be aware of this from reading previously mentioned automotive publications and having them explain the deceptive terminology behind this, because, of course, the manufacturers will ''always'' pass off these "freshened" models as completely and totally 100% "redesigned" and "re-engineered" from the ground up, even when it's blatantly obvious that the most significant change to the model is minor exterior styling changes. Lately, however, the manufacturers have taken it up to the next level, blurring the lines between a truly new "generation" and "mid-life update" thanks to improved manufacturing and engineering processes which are able to make minor and cheap yet truly tangible and appreciative changes to a car model, at least from the buyer's perspective (for example, truly redesigned or enlarged interiors).

* The automotive industry is the undisputed ''master'' of this trope (especially notorious among the American auto manufacturers), so much that the automotive ''publications'' industry (you know, as in ''Car & Driver'' and ''Motortrend''?) is the undisputed master at countering the automotive industry's mastery. You see, cars (much like [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars other things]]) are defined in "generations" with each "generation" being defined as having a significant improvement over the preceding one. The current model of Corvette, for example, is currently in its "sixth generation." Because the gestation period of a new generation of a particular car model is so long (and expensive), most models go through a "mid-life update" (sometimes multiple updates) where minor and easy things are changed to at least make the car ''look'' more competitive against the truly latest generations of competing models. Of course, you would only really be aware of this from reading previously mentioned automotive publications and having them explain the deceptive terminology behind this, because, of course, the manufacturers will ''always'' pass off these "freshened" models as completely and totally 100% "redesigned" and "re-engineered" from the ground up, even when its blatantly obvious that the most significant change to the model is minor exterior styling changes. Lately, however, the manufacturers have taken it up to the next level, blurring the lines between a truly new "generation" and "mid-life update" thanks to improved manufacturing and engineering processes which are able to make minor and cheap yet truly tangible and appreciative changes to a car model, at least from the buyer's perspective (for example, truly redesigned or enlarged interiors).

* Parodied in the "diamond shreddies" advertising campaign.

* {{Garfield}} had a nice DeadpanSnarker moment with this phrase.

<<|WeaselWords|>>

* The automotive industry is the undisputed ''master'' of this trope (especially notorious among the American auto manufacturers), so much that the automotive ''publications'' industry (you know, as in ''Car & Driver'' and ''Motortrend''?) is the undisputed master at countering the automotive industry's mastery. You see, cars (much like [[ConsoleWars other things]]) are defined in "generations" with each "generation" being defined as having a significant improvement over the preceding one. The current model of Corvette, for example, is currently in its "sixth generation." Because the gestation period of a new generation of a particular car model is so long (and expensive), most models go through a "mid-life update" (sometimes multiple updates) where minor and easy things are changed to at least make the car ''look'' more competitive against the truly latest generations of competing models. Of course, you would only really be aware of this from reading previously mentioned automotive publications and having them explain the deceptive terminology behind this, because, of course, the manufacturers will ''always'' pass off these "freshened" models as completely and totally 100% "redesigned" and "re-engineered" from the ground up, even when its blatantly obvious that the most significant change to the model is minor exterior styling changes. Lately, however, the manufacturers have taken it up to the next level, blurring the lines between a truly new "generation" and "mid-life update" thanks to improved manufacturing and engineering processes which are able to make minor and cheap yet truly tangible and appreciative changes to a car model, at least from the buyer's perspective (for example, truly redesigned or enlarged interiors).

Comedian GeorgeCarlin observed that the phrase is perfectly meaningless in the first place. Which is it, a new product, or an old one which has been improved? Logically it cannot be both "new" ''and'' "improved"...