Why deo ads don’t pass the smell test

Most commercials for deodorants you see today feature a guy walking out smelling daisy fresh, and skimpily dressed girls around him go into a frenzy. They might also include sisters-in-law—otherwise coy—but who suddenly develop affections for close relatives. What next – incest?

Audiences don’t need a jury to tell them why such ads are not just pure bunkum, but are downright offensive. Even to a majority of the guys, whose fantasies these ads purportedly claim to cater! How guys would wish it was so easy to woo a girl! Just spray on a Rs 150 deo, and play the pied piper to all the femme fatales in town. Whoever said fancy cars, fat bank balances and personality are important, can eat crow.

Alright, we know that sex is a powerful tool to sell products. Sprinkle a bit of humour, and it acquires an air of disarming sensuality.

Recall an old commercial for Axe – a scrawny guy and a girl are shown in a close-up, cheek-by-jowl, literally, appearing to be travelling in a crowded train. The camera pans out, and you see that the couple is all alone in the compartment. The sign-off: ‘The Axe Effect’. Nice and easy!

Compare it with the ads you see today. Bikini clad girls emerging from a dip in the ocean (copied frame-to-frame from a Brazilian ad), bhabhis or newly-wed girls turning naughty at the sight of the neighbourhood hunk… the ads seem to make such a desperate and crude attempt to sell the product. All the commercials seem to drop off a mould. Lately, even Axe seems to have fallen into the trap, and taken the easy way out. Whatever happened to USP and positioning!

I guess the creators of such communication (client + ad agency) should wake up and smell the coffee before they expect customers to try out and smell their ware.

A typical Indian ad for a motorcycle is never complete without daredevil stunts and buxom belles heaving in orgasmic pleasure as the protagonist takes off his helmet. On any given day, the dailies carry at least one incident of road accident involving a speeding two-wheeler. Are the two phenomena interrelated? I leave it up to you to decide.

On the other side, you also have benign advertisements that drive home the message without the bravado. I can particularly recall the Bajaj Avenger ad, where the hero rides through the scenic terrain of Ladakh, forgiving everyone from his father to the barber, ‘feeling like God.’ I don’t want to take sides here as to which company or brand does a better job of selling dreams. But I strongly feel that whoever is selling the dream, without inspiring someone—however unintentionally—to drive off the edge, is doing a good job.

The two-wheeler is as stylish as it is risky. In the past few years, the machines have become heavier and faster. The design of a bike leaves very less chance for the rider to walk away from an accident without any injury. Even at seemingly innocuous speeds of 35-40 kph, it is difficult to control the bike if the rider loses his balance. And unlike a scooter, if the bike topples over, it can crush the limbs of the rider. That’s why, it is not uncommon to see most Indian parents wave out to their young sons with a fervent hope that he comes home safe and sound.

Though marketers are not so heartless to endanger the lives of their customers, but unwittingly, some of them are inspiring youngsters to drive recklessly.

This phenomenon is not restricted to advertisements, or for that matter, only bike ads alone. You have had cases of kids leaping off buildings thinking they were Shaktimaan and breaking each other’s necks in a bid to emulate WWE stars.

So, where should marketers draw the line? The debate can go on and on. But in this case, I guess, biking ads can do with a little less of adrenaline rush.