The ‘Lynx epidemic’

The Centre’s Mark Honigsbaum, who studies the social and emotional experience of epidemics, might find this somewhat trashy advert for Lynx interesting (then again, he may not). You can see how the admen are trying to tie their product in to the cinematic language of plague / zombie films. Now I’m no Don Draper, but why do you want a deodorant ad to summon up associations with zombies and plagues? Also, why would you want to wear a deodorant that apparently drives zoo animals into a frenzy? And is the European politician who appears at the end, the one who can’t stop himself jumping onto a female reporter, meant to be Dominique Strauss-Kahn? Perhaps his lawyer could use it as a defence: ‘It wasn’t his fault, m’lud…it was the Lynx effect.’ I particularly like the last line of the advert: ‘Do not buy Lynx Attract’. OK – I won’t!