I have a big question for all of you. What is it with perfume/cologne ads and sex? Seriously. I wear perfume all the time. When I put on my Vera Wang perfume I don’t do it so that I can end the day with the bottle between my legs. I mean come on. I wear it so that I smell yummy. Yummy doesn’t always have to mean sex.
Marc Jacobs, a noted fashion designer, has named his new fragrance for men “Bang.” His advertisements for “Bang” features him lying naked with a big bottle of cologne between his legs. Let me just put it out there- “Bang” is in between his legs so that you can… well…. Bang!
Cologne advertisements (for those of you who are uneducated in the toiletry of men, cologne is essentially perfume for men) are usually always hyper-sexual. Perfume advertisements make me think of soft-core porn. I mean you may not see the deed itself but you certainly get the point. I know that smell is supposed to heighten and arouse certain senses- but those senses don’t always have to be the desire to have hot and dirty sex. There is such a thing as intimacy without sex. Every man that I have dated has always loved how I smell. After they say this they normally kiss me or rub my face or something really sweet. They don’t pounce on me with the anticipation of having sex.
I think that these kinds of advertisements limit what it means to be either male or female. If you are a male you are a sex starved and perfume addict pervert. If you are a woman you are a slave to your senses and expect sex to accompany your scent. I mean don’t get me wrong- I think scent can be incredibly sexy. Duh. BUT that’s not all it is.
Alright let’s focus on the Marc Jacobs advertisement for “Bang.” First off- the name. The name itself is conjures sexual and violent feelings. Bang. The sound of a gun. Bang. An adjective for sex. Bang. Secondly, the fragrance is for men. Since we associate men with stereotypical masculine characteristics, it seems like a fitting name. A real man wears “Bang.” Right?
This advertisement is meant to shock people. And it does. I was flipping through Elle when I saw this. I definitely stopped. And then I wondered why this was in a woman’s fashion magazine. Are we supposed to think that if we buy the men in our lives “ Bang” that our sex lives will improve? I guess women can have it all. Great fashion and great sex- thanks to “Bang.”
If men look at this advertisement they might feel a little repulsed because Marc Jacobs is gay and they don’t want to be associated with it. At the same time they probably trust him. After all, women love Marc Jacobs. We trust him. We will buy his products for ourselves and the guys in our lives. I am going out on a complete limb here but bear with me. I am basing this off of what men in my life have said or implied. They probably feel less threatened by designers like Marc Jacobs because they are gay. They probably assume that they identify with women and therefore have some kind of insight to what women want. SO women must want what Marc Jacobs is advertising right? “Bang.” Women want lots of sex and violence in their lives. Yes please.
I haven’t blogged in a LONG time so I understand that this is probably not that amazing. These are just my thoughts.
