The Good Life: the impact of a TV sitcom on consumer behaviour.
Examining trends can sometimes show influences from unexpected quarters. Take the case of ‘The Good Life’, which ran from 1975 to 1978. It’s fondly remembered as one of the better sitcoms of the 1970s, but it also had an impact on consumer behaviour.
While few followed Tom and Barbara Good in opting out of the rat-race completely in favour of a life of self-sufficiency, there was a major uplift in the numbers of people growing vegetables in their own gardens.
This activity almost doubled between 1973 (26% of adults) and 1978 (47%). After the programme ceased its run, it was a further 10 years before vegetable-growing fell back to its previous level.
Source: GB TGI
Long-term trend analysis of TGI data, including the historical data held within the Archive for Market and Social Research (AMSR), lets us see how consumer behaviours have evolved, and consider how they might consider to do so.
Sources:
TGI (Target Group Index) is a continuous survey which has been carried out in Great Britain since 1969, based on 25,000 adults per annum, who provide information on their use of all major products, brands and services. Media exposure, attitudinal and demographic data are also included. Kantar, who own and operate the TGI (Target Group Index) are making major donations of data to AMSR.
To explore the TGI archive within AMSR, click here. (This link to the archive contents will open as a separate page).