Deo Deception
Much like a book on anti-gravity, the issue of false advertising is impossible to put down. This week, we’re talking about men’s deodorant commercials! As a female, I’ve always found these commercials to be like insect puns – they really bug me.
This body-spray elevator commercial is wrong on so many levels.
More often than not, men’s deo commercials feature a guy using the product that leads to a lady (or ladies) going head over heels for him because of the deodorant’s scent. Does that happen for real? The obvious answer is no.
I once heard someone say that being aware of something and discovering its purpose may come at two different times. As an example, he mentioned that he’s been aware of deodorants way before he discovered their purpose. As a primary school boy, he just knew that deodorant is something worn by older people but it wasn’t until high school that he discovered what it was for.
And what is it for? History says that before bathing became common, people used heavy colognes to mask body odour and it was only during the late 1800s when deodorant sticks were created by chemists to be commercialised. THERE WE GO. History itself states that mass production of deodorants was done for the sole purpose of commercialism. However, I of course don’t want to disregard the product’s actual purpose which is to prevent and mask body odour. It does the trick, but the question now is when did people become so self-conscious of their smell?
In some cultures, the way you smell is associated to your social class. Smelling nice is one thing, but what about simply being hygienic? Again, when baths and showers weren’t common, people used colognes to mask body odour but it was done outside of the consideration of hygiene. Marketing and advertising become, once again, responsible for making people think there’s a need for this product. (Although, let’s be honest, some people actually do but if they bathed frequently, using soap and more soap, they wouldn’t need it. This is the dichotomy of marketing.)
Can we have more honest advertising? I wouldn’t want to start talking about how sexist those deodorant commercials can be but how sad is it that excellence in advertising lies in the capability of advertisers to bend the truth as much as they can so that their products would sell? Objectifying individuals, casually making fun of issues, or simply advertising a photo that looks nothing like the product you get is, in a lot of ways, disturbing and annoying yet society allows it.
I had a conversation about one of my previous blogs and my friend asked how can an advertising blog be against advertising practices. We’re somewhat like an anti-advertising advertising agency. The norm is sadly dishonest, that’s why we would rather be outspoken about the issues that lie in this industry – call it as it is and even make fun of it, rather than succumb to the practices that deceive people.
On a lighter note, here's another crazy commercial I found for a product that may just work better than a deodorant. Who knows?
