{"id":113779,"date":"2026-03-06T16:43:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/?p=113779"},"modified":"2026-03-05T14:45:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T13:45:13","slug":"packaging-user-irony-in-the-luxury-segment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/verpackungsverwender-ironie-im-luxussegment\/","title":{"rendered":"Packaging users | Irony in the luxury segment"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE PACKAGING USER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Character bumps: Irony in the luxury segment<\/h1>\n

I tend to display embarrassing behaviour (such as starting a text with \u201eI\u201c) or follow role models who are questionable. Like Hank Moody, for example, that walking contradiction from Californication. He is a writer, hedonist and self-sabotage on two legs. One morning, his black Porsche is parked like a beaten-up predator - the left front light smashed in by a cuckolded husband. Happens to Hank all the time. It's also normal that Moody never repairs the lights. What's more, when he gets a new Porsche a long time later, he smashes the light again himself. Same place, same damage. Why? I asked myself the same question. And then it dawned on me: because perfection simply doesn't suit him. Because a flawless luxury object would undermine his own image.<\/p>\n

This is not an isolated case, but a principle. Luxury that is too slick quickly comes across as a false friend. Too polished means: not genuine. Too shiny means: not lived. That's why some things have an interest in looking bad - or at least less good than they could. As if to say: don't rely on appearances. And: don't take us too seriously.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n

John Lennon also understood this. His Rolls-Royce Phantom V - the epitome of British state car etiquette - was unceremoniously painted with flowers. Not an understatement, but a calculated affront. The Rolls was still expensive, still heavy, still a symbol of wealth. But it suddenly looked like a travelling contradiction: upper class meets hippie, empire meets LSD. Luxury that ironises itself is harder to attack. And more interesting.<\/p>\n

If you apply this to products and their packaging, you end up with a strange but very effective strategy: the deliberate image break. High-quality content, deliberately shabby packaging. Or at least one that counteracts the noble image. No velvet, no gold, no whisper of exclusivity. Instead, grey cardboard, sober typography, sometimes even a hint of official design. As if the product were saying: if you only love me because of my appearance, keep your hands off me.<\/p>\n

In the premium segment in particular, this is almost a form of self-defence. Anyone who packs too luxuriously is quickly suspected of placing more emphasis on pose than on substance. The ironic break creates distance - and therefore credibility. An expensive wine in a label that looks like it came off a laser printer. High-priced cosmetics in tubes reminiscent of hospital supplies. Electronics in a box that looks more like a spare part than a lifestyle item. All of this undermines expectations. And that is precisely where the appeal lies.<\/p>\n

The effect is twofold: the packaging protects the outside. It deters those who are only looking for prestige. On the inside, it ennobles the product. Because those who pick it up do so consciously - not because of the glamour, but despite the sobriety. Or precisely because of it. As with Hank Moody's Porsche, the flaw is not a flaw, but a statement: I am more than my appearance. I can take it.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this is the most elegant form of irony in the consumer age: luxury that sabotages itself in order to stay true to itself. Packaging that doesn't polish the image, but questions it. Not because they want to be cheap - but because they can afford it.<\/p>\n

Which is unfortunately not the case with me and a Porsche. So I'll never find out whether I would be as consistent as my hero Hank Moody if the worst came to the worst. Damn.<\/p>\n

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Harald Brown<\/strong> is not a packaging developer, a marketing strategist or a recycling professional - he is Packaging users<\/b>. Nothing more and nothing less. And that is precisely what makes his perspective so valuable: unembellished, direct and full of everyday observations.<\/p>\n

In his column \"Let's wrap it up\"<\/b> he describes very personal experiences with boxes, foils, lids and everything that wraps products. Sometimes wonderfully funny, sometimes with a subtle side-swipe, always from the perspective of a consumer.<\/p>\n

Anyone who produces, designs or sells packaging gets a refreshing view from the outside - and in the best case a smile.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In his new column, Harald Braun, our packaging user, shows why luxury products sometimes deliberately forgo glamorous packaging. The deliberate break in image - from grey cardboard to sober typography - can even be a sign of strength in the premium segment.","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":113780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","rank_math_description":"Harald Braun, unser Verpackungsverwender, erkl\u00e4rt, warum Luxusprodukte manchmal bewusst unspektakul\u00e4r verpackt sind \u2013 und gerade dadurch an Glaubw\u00fcrdigkeit gewinnen.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"Verpackungsverwender","rank_math_title":"","csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[60912,61152,32],"class_list":{"0":"post-113779","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-aus-dem-magazin","8":"tag-kolumne","9":"tag-magazin-01-2026","10":"tag-packmittel-und-packstoffe","11":"cs-entry","12":"cs-video-wrap"},"acf":[],"vimeo_video":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113779"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113784,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113779\/revisions\/113784"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packaging-journal.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}