When we men decide to marinade ourselves in unguents and scent, we are expected to take the art director’s chair, decode confusing messages, take an olfactory world tour — Sicilian bergamot, British leather, amber from the North Sea, Australian sandalwood, Argentinian maté — or even call our sexuality into question. We have to take sides. Am I a rugged, outdoorsy Ewan sort or a slick, urban type like Matthew?
— From How fragrances are advertised to men, in the UK Times Online.
I can't even finish reading this article.
You'll live without, I'm sure
it's actually kind of interesting, especially when they get to the Lynx brand (I guess it's the Brit equivalent of Axe or Bod, Lord help us all!)
it really is difficult to market to men, especially straight men who aren't completely in touch with their metrosexuality, and I suspect that scent is one of the more difficult categories.
I think that those Lynx/Axe ads are fun to watch.
The Baldessarini ad with the man in his private jet and female pilot is kind of cool too.
D&Gs ad: verrry irrritating.
And they all stay in my mind and I am not even a man.. so whom were they made for anyway ?
that's the gist of this article – the writer posits how nervous, in general, straight men are about 'seeing' other men, so which fragrance ads would be most likely to appeal to them (I'm assuming, from his stance, that he is a straight male). Women's fragrance advertising is much more straightforward…
Yes I know that that was the subject, I took a little sideroad.
Women's ads are far more confrontational, even merciless if you wish.
But women buy at least half of men's fragrances…so thinking it must be harder to market a men's fragrance when your audience is mixed, right?
Yes that is a good point. Maybe those Axe ads and so are even meant for both sexes, just to get our attention because the partners are 50% of the buyers.