Does it pass the sniff test?
Of course, the findings might not pass everyone's sniff test,
because the women didn't meet the men face to face, so technically
did not smell them. And the effect was not quite as profound as
those portrayed in ads globally over the years from agencies
Bartle Bogle
Hegarty and
Lowe. No
women in the test group went to unusual lengths to get the
Lynx-wearing men they found more attractive.
But the research indicates a statistically significant
proportion of the women did find Lynx-wearing men more attractive
than their non-deodorized peers when they watched 15-second videos
the men made describing themselves. The fragranced men got an
average rating of 4.2 on a 7-point scale, 0.4 points higher than
the 3.8 recorded for the wearers of placebo deodorant.
The study, to be published in an upcoming edition of the
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, covered 35 heterosexual
men in their 20s. About half were given an unmarked can of Lynx
fragranced spray deodorant, and the other half got the placebo --
an unmarked can of spray deodorant with no fragrance. All the men
were asked not to bathe for 48 hours, after which they made their
videos.
In an effort to control for the innate attractiveness of the
men, the women also rated photos taken of the men. The fragranced
men's attractiveness rating was 27% higher in the videos taken
after they used the deodorant than in their photos.
Self-confidence
Men also graded their self-confidence before and after the 48-hour
trial. Those in the unfragranced group showed a slight and gradual
decrease in their self esteem, according to Unilever, while those
in the fragranced group had a slight boost in their confidence.
The confidence gap apparently was what made the difference for
the women, said Monica Garcia, a consumer scientist for Unilever in
the U.K. "We wanted to know if this confidence would actually
translate into anything that's really brand relevant," she said.
"And we saw that link, which was a really nice bonus we got out of
the study. ... Deodorant is supposed to make you feel good about
yourself and give you confidence in the mating game, which is what
Axe says."
One caveat: The Axe effect could evaporate when men open their
mouths. Women rated the fragranced men as more attractive when the
sound on the videos was off, but had no statistically significant
preference when the sound was on.
That clearly indicates body language played a decisive role in
making the fragranced men more attractive, Ms. Garcia said. "One
way you could look at it is that the Axe Effect works as long as
you're very quiet," she joked, though she added: "We shouldn't tell
the guys not to speak. ... Inevitably, what you say will also
contribute to your overall attractiveness."
