Spray more, get more: masculinity, television advertising and the Lynx effect

Abstract

There has been a recent growth in both the advertising of male grooming products and the sales of such products in Britain and, as such, it is important that we examine the representations of men, masculinity and the male role that are being used to advertise and indeed sell this new and growing market sector. After all, advertising cannot help but influence both our purchasing decisions and our wider understanding of sex and gender roles in society. Therefore, this article seeks to examine the depiction of the male in a series of Lynx television adverts that have aired in Britain since the mid-2000s, considering the ways in which such texts simultaneously conform to and challenge dominant images of masculinity.

Keywords:

• masculinity
• male grooming
• television advertising
• Lynx

Notes

1. Relevant audience research is needed to tell us whether the Lynx product range, (through its use of the young, white, heterosexual, everyman) appeals to a broad class, racial and ethnic demographic within this particular age range.

2. Although it may be obvious to suggest that this distinction between average men and unattainable women would prove popular with the viewing male, it is surprising to find that such images prove popular with the woman in the audience. After all, ‘nearly half of all Lynx purchases are made by women’ (Lynx 2009).