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Spray April 2015

SPRAYTechnology & Marketing Commentary Aerosol blindness When I was a teacher, I used to present a unit on advertising—more specifically, how language is used in advertising. I remember one of my female students raising her hand and asking with frustration why print ads and TV commercials tried to make women think they were “the stinkiest things ever.” I replied, “So you’ll buy their products.” It appears we’re all stinky now, or so the new Febreze odor-blindness campaign would have us believe. Chances are, most of us have homes and cars that smell my bedroom reeks like a giant sneaker. I like to think I’m pretty impervious to advertising, but I admit, this campaign got to me. It also got me to thinking about what I like to call “aerosol blindness.” I run up against it almost every day, this overlooking of aerosol products. For example, a very popular brand of men’s grooming products recently launched a new line for the spring. The online press kit showed a generous line-up of products that included no less than four aerosol products. When I contacted the brand’s PR firm to have them send me big, beautiful images of the aerosols, I received a curt yet chirpy email in response that said, “Sorry, such-and-such brand doesn’t make aerosols!” What the heck? I wrote back and explained that these products were plainly visible on their website and were also, in fact, floating around my house. I then received a stream of apologetic emails with excuses ranging from “the wrong code was in the computer” to temporary insanity to “It’s Friday.” Just yesterday, I received a package of products that I was hoping to use in an upcoming feature. The PR rep had promised some very photogenic spray products and I was eager to see what was sent. When I got the call from the mail room that a package had come for me, I ran down with my box-cutter thinking, “Oh, goody, I can’t wait.” And guess what? The products were very photogenic and arrived in pristine shape, but they were none of them sprays. Not one. Just because I focus on aerosol products all day doesn’t mean I expect everyone else to, of course, but it is a bit disheartening when a magazine called SPRAY has to sometimes struggle to get the point across. You wouldn’t believe the number of press releases I receive daily for launches of mascara, lipstick and baby diapers. This aerosol blindness could be construed as a negative thing—that these worthy products are overlooked in the vast sea of other products—but I like to think of it as a positive thing. Spray products are ubiquitous, a part of normal, everyday life. Some are fancy and some are plain, but we all use them, have them in our homes and workplaces, and reach for them several times a day. I think we’d notice more if they weren’t there. 6 Spray April 2015 Cynthia Hundley Publisher chundley@spraytm.com Ava Caridad Editorial Director acaridad@spraytm.com Greg Dool Assistant Editor gdool@spraytm.com Montfort A. Johnsen Technical Editor montyjohnsen@att.net Susan Carver Vice President, Administration scarver@spraytm.com Doug Bacile National Sales Manager dbacile@spraytm.com Donald Farrell Production production@spraytm.com Joy Cunningham Reader Service Coordinator readerservice@spraytm.com Circulation circulation@spraytm.com Member: CAPCO Volume 25, No. 4, April 2015 Industry Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part may be reprinted without written permission from the Publisher. Spray Technology & Marketing (ISSN No.1055-2340) is published monthly by Industry Publications, Inc. Correspondence for editorial, advertising and circulation to: 3621 Hill Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054 Phone: 973-331-9545 • Fax: 973-331-9547 Subscription inquiries: circulation@spraytm.com Internet: spraytm.com, twitter.com/SprayTechnology Periodical postage paid at Parsippany, NJ and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Spray Technology & Marketing, 3621 Hill Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Subscription rates: U.S. 1-year $50.00; Canada & Mexico 1-year $60.00. Airmail Rates to foreign countries: $130.00/yr. Single copies of current issues: $12.00. Directory Issue (Buyers Guide) $27.00 (includes shipping). Missing issues: Claims for missing issues must be made within three months of the date of the issue. Printed in the U.S.A. Industry Publications, Inc. also publishes Indoor Comfort Marketing The opinions expressed in this publication are not intended to be, nor should they be interpreted as, a replacement for professional, legal advice. Ava Caridad, Editorial Director pretty OK, but Febreze “Noseblind” advertisements are now making us think perhaps that’s not the case, perhaps we just think we smell OK. As if I’m not paranoid enough, I now have to worry that my couch smells like a giant cat, my car smells like the dog, my kitchen has the stench of Fisherman’s Wharf and Editorial Director


Spray April 2015
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