The Team’s Take: While a somewhat shallow example, this study shows how products are benefit-based. Axe is more than a physical product. It is a bundle of emotional and psychological benefits that as this study shows includes not only odor protection, but also self-confidence and the perception of attractiveness.
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Excerpted from AdAge, “Scientists Prove the ‘Axe Effect’ Is Real. Sort of” By Jack Neff, January 07, 2009 * * * * *By now everyone is familiar with ads for Axe deodorant showing women chasing men who use products from the Unilever personal-care brand. And a new study in the U.K. … indicates that there might be a whiff of truth in it. The research found that men who used Lynx deodorant, Axe’s British-brand cousin, were seen as more attractive by females than men who used a “placebo” deodorant with no fragrance … 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 … 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 …
Men also graded their self-confidence before and after the 48-hour [Axe] 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 … “We wanted to know if this confidence would actually translate into anything that’s really brand relevant … 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 … “One way you could look at it is that the Axe Effect works as long as you’re very quiet … We shouldn’t tell the guys not to speak. … Inevitably, what you say will also contribute to your overall attractiveness.”
Edit by SAC
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Full Article:
http://adage.com/article?article_id=133621
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