How Advertisers Convinced Americans They Smelled Bad

[salvorhardin]

A schoolgirl and a former traveling Bible salesman helped turn deodorants and antiperspirants from niche toiletries into an $18 billion industry.

...

Young decided to present perspiration as a social faux pas that nobody would directly tell you was responsible for your unpopularity, but which they were happy to gossip behind your back about.

His advertisement in a 1919 edition of the Ladies Home Journal didn’t beat around the bush. “Within the Curve of a Woman’s arm. A frank discussion of a subject too often avoided,” announced the headline above an image of an imminently romantic situation between a man and a woman.

Reading more like a lyrical public service announcement than an advert, Young continued:

A woman’s arm! Poets have sung of it, great artists have painted its beauty. It should be the daintiest, sweetest thing in the world. And yet, unfortunately, it’s isn’t always.

The advertisement goes on to explain that women may be stinky and offensive, and they might not even know it. The take-home message was clear: If you want to keep a man, you’d better not smell.

Full article: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-Advertisers-Convinced-Americans-They-Smelled-Bad-164779646.html?c=y&story=fullstory

[Freddie]

1. Sorry but most people who don't use deodorant DO smell bad

And we Americans have gotten used to the lack of said odor. A good thing, IMO.

[salvorhardin]

2. Note: The article is not advocating against the use of deodorant

It is a historical article that profiles the early days of deodorant and antiperspirant industry -- which is a lot more recent than most people realize. Nor do most people realize that the perceived need for such is largely manufactured.

[Freddie]

4. "feminine odor" is another one

Wasn't a problem (that soap and water wouldn't cure) until the advertisements started. Check some of the old ads for Lysol (!!!) to cure this "problem." makes your skin crawl.

[salvorhardin]

5. Heh

Reminds me of an older guy I knew. I was visiting one day, and noticed a jug of Clorox in his shower. Curiosity overcame me and I asked him why he kept his Clorox in the shower. He told me he used Clorox when he bathed because he didn't want to smell "like an old man."

[Big Blue Marble]

3. Not if they shower regularly. NT

[marybourg]

6. "Regularly" meant once a week

not that long ago.

[Unca Jim]

7. If you travel...

you know that smell still exists.

The misogyny aside, people smell bad after a while.

[roody]

8. My pet peeve is plug in

fragrance, which creates indoor air pollution. When I return from a family visit, I have to wash everything I brought in fragrance free detergent. When you are in it, it is not so noticeable, but when I get to my all natural home full of fresh air, my stuff smells toxic. Google Glade plug in ingredients for more info.

[japple]

9. Don't blame it on the bible salesman and the schoolgirl. It's the capitalist system

that has us convinced that we need all the products. The message is that we need to buy all this stuff in order to be an acceptable member of society. My biggest peeve is bottled water.

[Archae]

10. Mel Brooks said it best...

"Everyone smells like a strawberry!"

[Manifestor_of_Light]

11. People should take a shower every day. a lot of them do not.

Deodorant is what you put on your bod AFTER you shower and are clean.

It's not much good when you already have "pit funk" as I call it.

[japple]

12. And what about people who live in countries where they have

no running water. Some don't even have access to water unless they walk for miles and then tote it back home in a bucket or a basin. In third world countries, many people don't even have the luxury of a good body scrub with soap on even a weekly basis. Street people often have to use public washrooms to maintain a minimal bit of hygiene. Get real.

[Macoy51]

13. Most do have Running Water

I believe the discussion is centered around Americans with the money to buy deodorant. And the vast majority of Americans do have access to running water and soap. The fact that Afghans and American homeless do not have access to soap and water does not mean the rest of us should not bath on a regular basis. And as a person who rides the bus, I am all too aware of people who view bathing as an optional/weekly thing.


Macoy