Believe it or not, I actually know someone in the fragrance industry. And she works at Calvin Klein no less. Naturally, whenever I get the opportunity to see her, I try and help her out with a few pitches for new fragrances. It’s the least I can do.
Let’s face it, fragrances these days have gotten too predictable. Perfumes for women, generally, smell like flowers or fresh produce. Seriously, this is the best you can come up with? I can smell flowers anytime, just by swinging by the local botanical garden or funeral home.
And colognes for men are even worse. We’re supposed to smell like abstract or philosophical concepts. Truth. Be. Eternity. All of these are actual Calvin Klein fragrances. I suppose it sounds better than “Gullible†or “Desperate†which is what you actually smell like.
Anyway, for the record, I don’t wear cologne. No need. I have a rich, natural musk. Of course, if Calvin Klein had his way, my wife would probably smell like lavender peaches and I would smell like immortality. Somehow this makes sense in the fragrance industry.
As you can see, some fragrance innovation is long overdue. Here are some of my ideas:
Summer Barbeque for Women: Nothing will attract a man’s attention quite like the scent of a slab of meet cooking over an open flame. Ladies, with a sprinkle of Summer Barbeque, you can be the slab of meat that will get his mouth watering.
Seriously, try this one at home. Just dab a little barbeque sauce behind your ear, or sprinkle some A1 Steak Sauce on your wrist before your next evening out. Ask my wife. It will drive your man wild.
Flammable for Men: As the name suggests, this fragrance is 100% pure gasoline. The unmistakable scent of any flammable liquid always creates panic in a crowd of people. Danger is present. Ha! Not only do you laugh at danger, but you wear it on your sleeve. And you even splash a little danger on your neck. Why not, you’ll shoot a squirt or two of danger down your boxers as well. Just don’t blink. And don’t stand near an open flame.
Of course, this one might be a tough sell at $50 per bottle, considering it is readily available at any gas station for about $3 per gallon. We’ll let the marketing guys figure it out.
New Car Smell for Women: Rollback the odometer, ladies! This youthful fragrance will persuade any man to kick the tires, look under the hood, and take a test drive. Buy or lease, the financing options are on your terms (on approved credit).
Freshly Cut Grass for Men: A manly scent, outdoorsy and clean. Whether it be manicuring the lawn at home, or spending the day on the links: This is the scent for men that work hard and play hard.
And yes, I entertained the idea of crafting my own homemade version of this scent. If grass stains weren’t so hard to get out, I would seriously smell like my front lawn right now.
Bacon for Women: Mmmmmm… bacon. This versatile fragrance is just like the pork product: salty, greasy and enticing at any time of the day. Think about it: Add bacon to a side of eggs, a burger, a pizza, even a salad, and it transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. It’s the little black dress of fragrances; Bacon will deliciously suit your needs for any occasion.
E.R. for Men: The scent of cheating death. E.R is a combination of perspiration, antiseptics, and a few pints of lost blood. We’ll provide the scent, the harrowing tale of your near demise is up to you.
Nice, I like it. I think that Gasoline could be for either men or women. We also need one for women that smells like beer, I mean, come on, that would attract almost any man who’s not gay or religious…Beer for women, now you can smell like his favorite breakfast drink…
i’d like to submit my idea:
Frank’s RedHot for Women. if men like to inundate all foods with this sauce, why not a woman smothered in Frank’s? plus the RedHot part sounds sexy, no?
At this point, Coco Chanel’s sweating bullets. Now, allow me to dumb it down a bit. George Bush. No, no, lame joke… but what were to happen if we mixed up our options? The NFL starts soon and men everywhere will be on cloud 9. Even if you can’t make it to a game, dab a little of “Freshly Cut…” with “E.R.,” and voi la. Scent of “Ditka.” What better way to be a part of the action while greeting the ladies. Ummm OK, that’s not your thing, but if you’re into Nascar try a splash of “Flammable” with “New Car,” and you’ll be the talk of any trailer park. C’mon folks– bacon goes with everything. I’m even more confident that a beer fragrance would be the next big trend. It’s a stretch, but for those needing to cause a stir, try mixing “Beer” with “E.R.” I recommend this while in passing of an ex… little something I like to call “After Sex.” If you want be ever more convincing, add “Bacon…” for “The Morning After” effect. Like I said, bacon goes with everything.
All of you submitted some fantastic ideas.
However, I would seriously spend $50 on a bottle of Ditka for Men.
I’m thinking we should trap Ditka in a sauna, and harvest his aroma. Shizworth, to the smellatorium! It’s time to make a fragrance!
Getting Mike into the sauna definitely calls for trap play… I was thinking Red 64 Rover, square the corner on the flank, on two, on two. In the meantime, let’s run over some ideas for the marketing pitch… I see the ad starting with a silver whistle falling in slo-mo onto a chiseled, black slab of granite (w/sound efx) next to the bottle… followed by some muffled NFL sound bites… and the pitch, “Grit has a name. Ditka for Men.” End it with a crisp sound bite of Mike yelling at the top of his lungs. Cha-ching.
What I normally do is just pull a couple of 100 dollar bills and rub the scent all over me. That usually does the job.
A funny behind-the-scenes story of the new P Diddy cologne Unforgivable here.