Will Dial “Magnetic” body wash for men enhance their sex lives? Not according to research by Consumer Reports. In its February 2011 issue, CR investigated Dial’s claim that the pheromone-infused wash would attract women. The scientist they interviewed said, “no way.”
Dial joins a long line of male targeted soaps, deodorants and body sprays positioned as sexual enhancers. Think of brands such as Axe, Tag, and Old Spice that employ the sexual benefit trope: “Use our brand, and get the attention of the opposite sex.” In advertising, this strategy was first used in 1911 by JWT to sell Woodbury Facial Soap to women. The appeal was so successful that JWT and hundreds of other agencies have used it to sell almost every personal care product imaginable, and continue to do so today.
CR does neglect to consider that simple bathing, an act some young men find abhorrent, may indeed enhance one’s prospects. But then any deodorant soap will do.
