Why is there a surge of deodorant products mostly advertised to women in the US?
Why is there a surge of deodorant products mostly advertised to women in the US?
So I have balls and yeah they're the first thing on my body to start to smell. I can skip a shower if I'm in a hurry and I don't smell much. That's with working a job that's usually physical. I was a punk kid fucking punk girls when I was younger and we didn't bathe every day. I didn't notice much smell then.
Now I see these ads regularly that are like hey women you stink after 12 hrs 5/10. What's up?
You guys are seeing ads?
Believe it or not I watch regular TV! I travel for work constantly and I have TV on in the hotel room. It makes me feel less lonely. That's how I'm seeing these ads. On my PCs it's Firefox+ublock origin.
Ahh, that makes sense, definitely.
Actually traveling today. Watching tv and three minutes in it’s an ad for female all body deodorant. Christ.
Same here brother. When im on the road, its ads for dick pills and antidepressants on tv for days
I use an adblocker, but I also drive a very old car and unfortunately my cd player just broke. I can confirm that there are tons of vaginal deodorant ads on the radio, always presented as a conversation between two women. There's no intention to be funny, they're trying to sound like a natural conversation two women would have in private and completely failing at coming across as anything short of awkward.
"So it works well for you?" "Yes! It lasts up to 24 hours, and four out of five gynecologists recommend it!"
Good point re:radio.
I can't imagine the conversation between the client and the ad agency in these cases.
capitalism preys on insecurity 🤷♂️
I’ve been seeing those too. And one of them says “72 hour protection” like what? You’re not showering for three days but you’re just going to febreeze you vageeze and call it good ? Insane behavior
Upvoted for "febreeze you vageeze"
Omg, I'm still laughing 5 minutes later, that was too awesome
True story after the pandemic sort of settled down I had been laid off for my job as so many others had and I started doing Uber and I noticed that people smelled bad when they got in my car but nine times out of 10 it was women that smelled bad like with body odor more than men and it was mostly younger women in their early twenties that were smelling this way so maybe it's just that women of a certain age tend to have more body odor than guys nowadays fuck I don't know It was just something I noticed to the point that I appointed it out to my wife
Because unscrupulous assholes know they can prey on insecurities and sell a shitty, over priced product to people that don't know any better.
Those ads are utter bullshit. nobody needs that crap. They particularly don't need it on their genitals. It causes more problems that it helps.
https://sh.itjust.works/comment/11186190
I responded in detail about the whole genital odor thing and how to care for one's genitals
But why would they not have thought of doing this before. I haven't noticed this uptick at least in my country but I'm curious now OP has asked. It's strange that they've decided now that they could prey on people's insecurities when it's been an option all along and it's largely already what they do anyway.
It's not that new. As another user mentioned, there's been campaigns about smells going back to the radio and print only days. Summer's eve has made millions with their bullshit "freshness" mentality. The only thing that's really changed is the ability to directly talk about the product being applied to genitals/the crotch.
The entire deodorant industry trades on implying that any smell is a bad thing anywhere on the body. We can indeed produce some funky smells that are unpleasant, but it really isn't something that can't be handled without deodorant for most people. Deodorant is just a ton more convenient and longer lasting for the armpits. Even there, it can sometimes cause problems, though it's less common for it to be as problematic as at the groin.
I mean, I use antiperspirant on my armpits because washing them as often as needed to get rid of the chemicals the bacteria there produce that cause odor is a time sink if you're prone to a lot of sweating, or don't have the freedom to do it when it's ideal. But you can handle pit odor by cleaning rather than using deodorants.
The difference is that we all know that armpits produce unpleasant odor that isn't from an infection, so we've gotten used to the idea of covering it up, or preventing out by controlling sweating and reducing bacterial presence. But the various makers of the products have been advertising their stuff for ages in a very similar way.
It's strange that they've decided now that they could prey on people's insecurities
Line go up. Oversaturation of the market, path of least resistance, etc. They've got to invent new problems to capture new buyer.
A fundamental tenet of marketing, the art of separating dollars from your wallet, is to make you feel that you are less. That you are deficient, unless you look like so and so, have such and such, so buy this and that. Consume baby, consume.
But specifically saying there is a surge across all America is anecdotal. People from different regions get different advertising, broadcast wise and different search results.
This is on cable TV. I don't see ads online because I'm not a fucking idiot. I think cable ads are the same across the country but I'm not sure.
Cable ads aren't the same across the country, and very soon won't be the same across the city. Addressable TV will bring personalized ads no matter what you're watching.
As to why you may see a bunch of ads for similar products all of a sudden, there are a couple causes. When a new company/product comes on the market, they may flood the airwaves with ads to get their name out there, or they may not be familiar with how buying and scheduling TV ads works and will cluster things together so it seems like a barrage instead of spread out over longer periods. Also, when new competition comes to the market, the current leaders get nervous and increase advertising to retain their customers and try to keep them from changing brands. Lastly, it's the phenomenon about noticing something which causes you to notice it even more (I.e. "there weren't as many of [my car] on the road before I started driving one.")
Cable tv ads are def not the same across the country. Differ region to region, city to city, age group to age group, time slot to time slot, and are highly targeted just like online ads.
You’ve obviously escaped the Old Spice full body deodorant for men commercials running perpetually on YouTube.
Yeah I don't watch much YouTube. I do have regular TV on in the hotels I stay in for work which is where I see these ads.
The one with toes?
You're doing manual labor without showering?
Reminds me of an old roommate I had. He didn’t think he smelled either… he did… it was rough
Been there with two coworkers back when I managed a restaurant. They couldn't believe they smelled when I had to have that terrible conversation with them. One improved, the other didn't. I actually had to fire the second guy.
Certainly wouldn't have been my roommate for very long.
I don't smell if I skip a shower. It doesn't happen often. Believe me my wife and my coworkers are very direct, they would tell me if I stink.
I make sure to tell people that my sense of smell is fucked and to tell me if I stink.
The ads I’m seeing have been for “full body” deodorants. Targeted at both men and women…
Haha marketing is what it is... a joke I made up some 30 years ago was that, despite what we see on the surface - the evidence proves that women are disgusting, dirty, fat, ugly animals that need a vast array of products to be created so that they can go outside without offending everyone...
So yes, you're right to find this ridiculous and offensive - but at the heart of it is simple greed, which is the real meaning of the American Dream.
Bro shower at least once a day
People produce different amounts of body odor. Also it's better for your skin to not use shampoo every day. 4-5 times a week is totally fine.
The full body deoderant people are expanding into the male market. Not sure why they felt the need to change the name, I think it's the same stuff? 🤔
Women:
Men:
Note, same company. I haven't tried it, some reviews say it smells funky, like sour milk or bad cheese, which, you know, I don't need to spend money to smell funky. LOL.
https://selfmagnitude.com/blog/brutally-honest-product-review-lume-deodorant
I did learn, after buying a hot tub, that men and women have a pH difference, so that might have something to do with it.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1034/j.1600-0846.2001.70206.x
"A statistically significant difference in skin pH between men (mean pH=5.80) and women (mean pH=5.54) was found, with women being more acidic than men (P<0.01). No difference between right and left arm was found. In men, the area closest to the wrist had significantly lower pH values compared with the proximal sites. This was not the case in women. Skin surface pH decreased during normal working hours in both genders."
Since Lume and Mando started their big marketing push, other known brands are doing the full body treatment, I think I'd trust them over Lume and Mando which look to be mostly marketing.
Secret (guessing for women):
https://secret.com/en-us/shop/aluminum-free-whole-body-creamOld Spice (guessing for men):
https://oldspice.com/total-body/That's interesting. I avoid ads...so I'm not seeing what you're seeing. I think my balls get a bit of a smell after a day, but like a nice, mild balls smell. My pits, man, my fucking pits...they go rancid in about a day's time, definitely in 2-3. Simply stating as a matter of fact, gotta deal with my pits before my balls.
Switch from regular deodorant to an Alum block
Looks like a piece of ice. Shower normally, dry up, then run the block on cold water and apply... Let it be a few mins and dry your pits
You can thank me by passing the tip to the next person in need ;-)
I'm talking ads you can't avoid on TV. Yeah I'm so old I don't have a screen in my face but across the room.
Maybe switch to antiperspirant? I did that many years ago and it really helped.
Well it all goes bad anyway, it's just good to clean up. I do not use antiperspirants, I don't like the idea of shoving stuff into my pores to block bodily functions. Those are kind of addictive, like if you're on them & don't use them, sometimes I feel like the problem is even worse. Like your body is purging because you stopped it up with aluminum.
I used antiperspirants until late HS, early college; it stained, discolored my shirts. I stopped using antiperspirant, and the staining stopped, too.
U see ads?
I'm guessing you don't watch sports.
I have cable TV on in the background in my hotel rooms. Shocking I know!
I just Carey one of those google hdmi plug things with a remote and jellyfin client.
I don't know but I'm honestly convinced that they put something in women's deodorant so that we need to buy more of it and it makes us stink more because when I start using fancy women's deodorant I fucking stink like God awful and I can't even stand my own smell but when I stop using deodorant or can't afford it for a while I don't smell bad and I can't figure it out
You become used to the bad smell. Everyone else doesn't
I said I can smell myself and it's more bad smelling when I wear the deodorants then when I don't.. I didn't say I don't fucking smell I said it's worse when I'm wearing deodorant compared to when I don't
If it’s for competing brands it’s either evidence of either a gaslighting cartel, or tons of mimicry and breeze testing in the ad teams’ thinking.
Making women feel uncertain is an old tactic for body care products.
While being in the same area while my parents are watching TV and I've seen Lume womans deodorant commercials quite a bit. Absolutely no clue why it's becoming more prevalent.
Your balls start to smell first? Wonder why. Inadequate wiping? My armpits will start to go musky after about 4 days in the same clothes. That's my first thing to go. 🤷♂️
My armpits will start to go musky after about 4 days in the same clothes
Why the fuck are you wearing the same clothes for 4 fucking days? The only profession in which that is remotely acceptable is if you're on the front fucking line of a warzone, fighting for your life.
Relax bud. I sit still most days. Web developer. Half the week I work from home. Usually wear the same clothes for about a week. Not socks or underwear though, change those almost every day. T-shirt normally change after 2-3 days. 👍 Shower about 2-3 times per week. I use Aleppo soap. It keeps you clean for much longer, too.
lol, so worked up about it, too. You okay?
You guys are wiping your balls? You must suck at shitting
You don't stand on all fours while shitting? No wonder your balls aren't getting a share of that shit.
After 4 days
My guys, you should get that smell test sanity checked
I have a really good sense of smell; trust me, you smell after one day and just can’t smell it yourself until day four. I’m sorry if this comes as a surprise.
Asked my friend today if I smell, a day after I showered. And I did some pretty rigorous activities today as well. They agreed to smell me, but said I don't smell.
What now? Trust your smell, when you have never smelled me? You're just as full of shit as everyone in this thread replying to me. Not because I'm saying you don't have a good sense of smell. I bet you do, and I bet you can smell people who do smell bad. But I don't smell bad. Deal with it. I'm really starting to think it's a jealousy thing here. People can't accept that I have good hygiene for some absolutely fucking absurd reason.
🤡🤪🫠
Just because you don't notice the smell doesn't mean there is none...
If I don't shower in the morning, I feel like a bum.
Funny. I just saw such an ad. Advising that you use their deodorant spray everywhere, yea everywhere. (Lady in commercial proceeds to spray her crotch)
Hmmm. Maybe just to sell more product. Or maybe it's a mindfuck.
In the 50s they sold Lysol to deodorize sinks, toilets, rugs etc. Then advised to ladies to spray their crotch with it too. Basically saying that a woman is just another home appliance. Which is mindfucky
I prefer a bit of funk on a girl. With a touch of floral perfume.
Ha ha I always guilt my wife with these commercials. "Do you need that?" She hates those annoying commercials. There the equivalent to all these dumb men's soap commercials for crap like this. https://www.drsquatch.com/
Because deodorant company stepped up their marketing budget
Women are smelly
As a woman, I prefer to clean that area with isopropyl and tea tree oil. Call me crazy. I’ve been verbally berated for choosing to do this, by people who claim it’s “bad for your mucus membranes and flora”! You know what I don’t need because of that? Some expensive deodorant marketed specifically for that region of the body. Smells are a sign of an infection.
Ma'am, I'm not going to berate you at all. It's your genitalia, you do what you want.
However, for anyone else coming along and taking this statement as true because someone has a vagina, please, please consult with someone that has actual knowledge before accepting that smells = infection. While some infections can be detected by smell, not all smells are signs of infection.
In truth, most people don't get up close to female genitalia to know what smells are and aren't "bad". Of those infectious possibilities, two can be direct result of doing things like applying alcohol, tea tree oil, or other harsh substances.
Those two are a yeast infection, the other is bacterial vaginosis. If you've never smelt yeast that's growing rapidly, you can at least have that experience by buying some and letting it grow in a jar. The scent when it's out of control in and around the genitals is almost exactly the same, though with other scents present as well. The most common cause of a yeast infection is when something occurs to disrupt the normative balance of the genitals, giving the yeast a chance to go crazy without competition. Antibiotics in particular are very likely to cause them.
Bacterial vaginosis can be related to several different types of bacteria. Staph is possible, gardnerella, prevotella, bacterioides, and others may be present. Most often, this happens when something kills off the lactobacilli present on and in the genitals, allowing the other kinds to go crazy.
Sometimes sex with a new partner can bring new strains of those, throwing the balance off until things adjust. But, it can be caused by douche use, iron deficiency (in limited circumstances), stress, and/or as an opportunistic effect after other infections, or even after antibiotic use.
Now, please note that bacterial vaginosis being set off by sex doesn't mean it's an STD in the usual sense. You could have new strains of bacteria introduced in other ways, and it happens often enough after hot tub sessions you'd likely never use one at a hotel ever again if you were smart.
Again, bacterial vaginosis is not a guarantee of sexual contact with a new partner. It's just one possibility of many.
While the smell of BV can vary a good bit, the classic smell is the "fishy" odor.
Smell is not always detectable when a yeast or bacterial infection is ongoing, so if you're having unusual itching, changes in your normal discharges (and every cis vagina has discharge to some degree), or burning (particularly during urination), it's worth talking to your doctor/gynecology specialist.
Now, there are plenty of other smells in and around vaginas. The two you'll run across the most are a "musky + meaty" scent, and a slightly sour, almost tangy scent. Neither is a sign of disease or disorder, and they may occur together. There can be a sharp, citrusy scent along with those or by itself. Again, none of those smells are a problem, and many find them quite pleasant.
If you want your genitalia to smell healthy and normal, rule one is to be easy on them. No harsh cleansers, ever. No alcohol, no tea tree oil, no antibacterial soaps. Indeed, all you need to bathe genitals of any kind is plenty of warm water, two hands, and a soft cloth. Soap is not necessary, and the wrong soaps will possibly cause problems. If you can't do without soaps, ask your gynecologist (if you have a cis vagina), or your GP, they can make recommendations as to brands. Same for penises, btw. You don't need soap, just hands, a soft cloth, and clean water.
Seriously, genitalia are mostly self cleaning. The more you interfere in that, the more likely problems are to occur. The goal is to get rid of dead skin cells, excess oils, and any waste material that might still be present. Even the oils don't require soap to control. Soap strips all of it away, and that's not a good thing. You just want to keep it from building up.
For labia, you do want to lightly use a cloth or hands in all the folds. For a penis, the same, even if you're uncircumcised. Just roll the foreskin back and gently wash with hands, or cloth, and clean water (warm is better, but not absolutely mandatory).
The source for all of this is twenty years of working as a nurse's assistant, giving baths to patients and being directly responsible and accountable for patient hygiene and skin health. Every bit of this is what you'd get from a doctor that deals with genitals, and is current best practice for anyone and everyone.
Again, anyone can do whatever they want with their own genitals. Not saying anyone has to follow best practices. Just be aware that the more you deviate, the higher the chances of recurring problems.
Also, nobody needs deodorant on their genitals, ever. Even people with illnesses that cause bad odors that aren't from infections, any deodorant is going to cause more problems than it fixes. Think about it, you're applying something that holds dead skin and moisture in a warm and dark place. Any antimicrobial properties of the product are going to end eventually, and you now have damaged the normative balance. It's setting up the worst possible outcome.
Lume? The people that own the company and do the commercials should be ashamed of themselves.
As a guy one thing I notice - there's a difference in how good I dry my parts after showering. Things feel cleaner during the day if I manage to get all the moisture away but before hiding my best parts in underwear shortly after showering.
I have wondered many times (and here is the place people can answer) - am I the only one who uses the hairdryer on his balls after drying his hair? (When I do, I always have this "thank god nobody sees this" feeling)
Thanks for the thorough post!
This is maybe TMI, but since you seem very knowledgeable, I'll ask it anyway, sorry!
Generally I'm not a very active person. But lately I've been trying to work out more. I've noticed that on workout days, the scent is a lot stronger there even after showering and wiping with a cloth. If I wait a few days before working out again, the smell dissipates. So it's not like there's an infection or anything, just sweat. Any tips?
As a human, I prefer to clean my eyes with tea tree oil and isopropyl alcohol. People may get upset by this, but I never have to clean sleep out of my eyes.
I can understand that. I have used isopropyl on my face, followed by tea tree oil to cure my acne, in the past. Both of which got close to my tear ducts. I had grey mucus come out of my right eye, and suddenly a bunch of pressure that I thought was a sinus headache subsided. I swear by isopropyl and tea tree oil now.
I'd be more worried that isopropyl would irritate your skin, but, hey, if it doesn't bother you, good for you!
Smells are a sign of an infection
No, they most certainly are not. You have been badly, badly, misinformed.