ABSTRACT
After their invention, canned foods represented an almost magical creation: manufacturers had succeeded in making the seasons stand still. This chapter focuses on a neglected element in the study of such innovations: the period during which the novelty wears off. It tracks the advertising strategies applied to the can, a type of packaging which went from symbolizing modernity to mundane pantry-filler in mere decades. Whereas its material properties remained virtually invariable, the popularity of canned food peaked and eventually declined. How did the presentation of this type of packaging change as it entered this new phase? By showing the strategies manufacturers employ to adapt the image of their product to new circumstances, this approach allows for analysing top-down modifications to the meaning of a food product. It offers new insights into the projections cast on physical objects and on food in general and aims to explain how what we want from our food changes over time.
