Arm pits are not cool.  And I’ve never understood glamorizing the scent of a hard-working man.  Sweat is sweat – no matter how big a bow you tie around it!

Fortunately for us all, men have come to appreciate the finer scents in life and have embraced a thriving market of men’s body care lines.  So much so that budget friendly brands such as Suave and Dove have launched a manly line of shower gels, lotions and body washes right along with more boutique brand names like Bath & Body Works.

Sporting a masculine packaging design and using testosterone-friendly words such as ‘oak,’ ‘instinct’ and ‘full force,’  these male targeted bath and body lines are owning their fair share of retail shelves.  The fun part for us marketers is watching the creativity unfold as various brands vie for placement in the shopping cart.  It is surprising to us that Old Spice, a brand that is traditionally associated with an older buying audience, has even stepped up their game with some catchy and hip messaging such as “Smells like ice, wind and freedom.”

More recently I stumbled upon some super creative marketing copy on the back of my husband’s Old Spice deodorant that I just had to share with the team: “Contains odor-fighting ‘atomic robots’ that ‘shoot lasers’ at your ‘stench monsters’ and replaces them with fresh, clean, masculine ‘scent elves.’ I don’t know how much more creative and fun a stick of deodorant can be!

So What?: When competitive products start creeping onto store shelves next to your products, our first reaction cannot be to sit back and rely on our brand longevity to make us the number one choice. We have to get creative and think of new ways to charm shoppers into choosing us over those other ‘atomic robots.’

Posted by The Analyst (Marci Allen)