Misleading Perfume and Cologne Advertising

Misleading Perfume and Cologne Advertising

You sit down to watch one of your favorite TV shows one night and you see it, one of those perfume commercials. On the screen you see a beautiful woman walking up a flight of stairs in an elegant dress with diamonds hanging from her ears and neck. Her face is a picture of perfection, with a slight hint of a beautiful smile. Entering on the left of the screen is a man in a black tuxedo he; wraps his arms around her and kisses her passionately on the lips. They both look at the screen and smile. On the bottom of the screen is a small bottle marked with a label of a recognizable perfume company. Now coming back into reality from the mesmerizing commercial, consider what affect this perfume has to most of the typical consumers of this product. A consumer may wear the perfume while at a nightclub in order to attract some attention from members of the opposite sex. However relying on only the fragrance to make them attractive to others may not achieve the desired effect. Even though smell can be a very powerful sense, it does not affect desirability as much as we would like to think. In fact advertisers usually spend millions of dollars in order for these commercials to create ideal images for the perfume or cologne’s effect.

Most cologne or perfume commercials are misleading because they try to portray an image that their scent, and their scent alone, will create effects that are often unrealistic. Some common ploys cologne and perfume company’s use are: that their product will make one feel good about themselves, make one look gorgeous and make one desirable to members of the opposite sex. Take for example the advertisements for Axe body spray, in whic...

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.... These commercials often portray unrealistic situations and reactions, which may mislead the consumer into believing the product will have an affect beyond the sense of smell. The most awful smelling scents could be the top selling cologne or perfume if advertised in a way to catch the attention of the audience. A recent cologne ad did a set of commercials utilizing this statement, “scent is one of the strongest ties to memory how do you want to be remembered?” This sentence is evidence that the advertisers are trying to make you think that if you buy their product you will be remembered any time that someone smells anything similar to that product. Most perfume and cologne ads rely on half-truths As far as shopping for fragrances I might suggest that you go with a scent that you yourself enjoy and don’t rely on others to enforce your opinion with false advertising.