By Alan B. Combs. This is another possible entry for Stan Kegel and Richard Lederer’s book of song-title puns.

Marketing for television commercial has increasingly become a high-pressure endeavor. Things are touted, not because they are necessary, but rather that they might sell. As you probably have suspected, I am going to point out a particularly bad example of the art. You wouldn’t be wrong.

One of the major (but unnamed in this tale) bottling manufacturers decided that providing choices in the container size in the six-packs of beverages might help move their product off the shelves. Their unique selling idea was to have several different container sizes in the very same six-pack. One of their most successful packages had two 250 ml bottles, two 500 ml bottles, and two 1000 ml bottles.

To the bottler’s surprise, after purchasing the beverage, most people would choose to drink from the 1000 ml container first. Postmarketing research showed why. It was the liter of the pack.