12.11.09

Scent of a boy


We are told that the pheromones released in a man's body smell like heaven. Great. It probably has to do with sweat. Sweating it out conveys hard work, hard fun, activity, fitness.

No one has yet sold bottled perspiration, though. Because no woman would buy it. It is one thing to nuzzle into a man’s armpit and take a deep breath, mainly so that you don’t have to listen to him talk, and quite another to find that smell being sold across the counter for which one has to pay.

Seriously, I am coming to an important issue. It has to do with body spray. The Axe effect advertisements in India still do not have an indigenous flavour. I am quite okay with it. The idea of deodorants anyway is not common for the majority of the population and, even if some do use it the reliance on foreign approval is immense. Our own models dress and try to look like the Caucasian models.

The problem is how with the being aired currently that shows a young lad in his early teens, a bit nerdy, dressed formally in the lift. An older attractive woman enters and she inhales deeply, adjusts her collar suggestively. Next she presses a button to stop the lift. When she walks out later, the guy’s clothes are rumpled, shirt out, and he smiles with the sudden knowledge of his appeal.

Just when he is getting accustomed to his altered state, the lift door opens and a buxom woman of rather oversized proportion gives him the look; she is a bit androgynous and artificial. We do not know what follows but can only imagine.

This leaving it to the imagination is dangerous business. Worse is that this could be seen as child abuse. Instead, I hear it being referred to as humorous. I think I do have a funny bone in my body but this is not funny at all. It could bring about some nervous giggles from guys that age. It only tells them that they can look like schmucks but just a little body spray will lift their spirits.

And they can always depend on older women to indulge them irrespective of who or what they are as people.

Interestingly, being well-groomed sends out a different signal here. It is about basic instincts and no quality required. This is going back to the rough-hewn idea without having even started out and muddied yourself.

8 comments:

  1. fv,
    this advertisement seems to be creaed by dimwits, for the dimwits...
    though your second point regarding the effect of such messages on tv, on children needs to be very seriously discussed , argued and we as a society needs to take a stand , instead of allowing those pseudo protectors of right to speech hijack the main issue.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Ms Versey

    Greetings to you.

    "It is one thing to nuzzle into a man’s armpit and take a deep breath, mainly so that you don’t have to listen to him talk ... "

    and yet most women tell you us their par amour doesn't have much to offer when comes to verbal exchange (please note how judiciously I have avoided the use of the eye word). Human olfactory response to smell is based on memories attached to the odor - which is an emotional one, so there isn't any good smell or a bad smell, it is what the smell reminds us of. All senses have a strong evolutionary basis - strong pungent odors signal something dangerous. Being that humans don't face many existential risks, we now have the luxury of choice, albeit with the baggage of million some years. I find others smell of deodorants, aftershaves and perfumes as infringement on the air I breathe, even if mildly pleasant.

    I remember the scent of my mother as I snuggled up to her as a boy. I remember the smell of the rain after a long dry season - of ripe mangoes and fresh cooked basmati rice - of piping hot naans from tandoor with a melting dollop of freshly churned butter.

    Axe ... bottle that.

    Best regards to you
    moonbat

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mash:

    Even the so-called new age type ads craftily put forth rather dangerous messages, and few realise how much these can subconsciously affect minds. Some of us can continue to raise questions about it and I don;t mind being referred to as one who overdoes it...

    Anon:

    Thanks. I suppose Google does some good work occasionally :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Moonbat:

    Very evocative...I too have memories, and instead of repeating them again yo might take a look here:

    http://farzana-versey.blogspot.com/2006/10/scent-of-eid.html

    While I agree that smells do remind us of something, there can be good and bad smells that do not hinge on nostalgia because that object itself may have some history. What do onions and garlics remind us of on their own? What memories do THEY have?

    Yes, many fragrances camouflage or intrude, but then many other senses do the same.

    ...strong pungent odors signal something dangerous

    I should hope this blog is risk-free, although it often revels in (on?) pungency.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I want to know how many people will buy such things only looking at ads like this.It is stupid

    ReplyDelete
  6. KB:

    Subliminal messages...they work in different ways, although many ads just end up trying to be too smart and appeal to the fraternity.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You think too much!It's a funny ad. Let it be.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Achcha? As though I have a choice! But it is not funny...I think...

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.