The smelly truth...

Living in the UK I must say I have watched more TV adverts than ever before in my life, and somehow I pay more attention to them. Is it because they are in a foreign language or just because a lot of the products are new and different? I don't know, however what did really popped out at me was this...

All these adverts show you products that we all seem to need, desperately need! Just think about it and their explanation makes sense. Yes, you will think that is the whole point of an advert! There is however a funny cycle of needs going on of late. Let me explain with an example.

Air fresheners

Advert 1: Oh look we have this fabulous air freshener you can place anywhere and it will make your house smell like summer time!

Initial reaction is 'oh yeah great idea!', I can put this nice looking think anywhere and press it when I want to freshen up this space.

A couple of weeks later this thing is standing on your dresser, collecting dust... And low and behold in the commercial break during the 3400th Friends episode, there is a new smelly stuff advert.

Advert 2: Look at this, no longer any need to press this beautiful air freshener it goes 'PFouwT' every 12,5 minutes giving you the exact freshness you will need to impress all your friends!

Initial idea, 'nice! Lets face it mine is standing there but I always forget too press it and the initial freshness is like sitting next to uncle Lou who likes to shower in his eau de toilette'

And yes your next trip to Tescos you can't resist this new and improved freshness bringer. The following weeks your trips to Tescos contain more than usual air freshener refills and batteries... to the point where you give up and it just stands there as another ornament on your dresser (Good thing it looks like a pretty rock!).

As if the air freshener people felt the drop in refill sales, there it is the new advert in another awesome lipping episode of Glee (I don't know why I watch it I don't even like it but it always ends up on the telly in our flat...).

Advert 3: Now plug your favourite air freshener in a plug socket, forget about batteries! Every now and then if will fill the air with a flower smell that will make a bee dizzy!

Oh my, now there is a solution to my battery problem! So yes again I was completely convinced this was what I needed... And this thing ends up in the hallway plug.

After running into it a few times, cursing myself a few times after finding our I didn't turn the power on on the plug socket I only noticed only a flower smell when tying my shoe laces. It was still spraying like a macho male cat and going through refills way too fast. So again I go back to my trusty smelly candles to give the house a nice atmosphere and smell. While dozing off to an episode of Chuck, there they were again my air fresheners desire demons.

Advert 4: The new and improved plug in air freshener from XXXX, no longer going through refills by spraying when you are not in. Control it yourself and make your house smell nice whenever you want it to smell nice!

And that's when I noticed it... wait a minute! That is the exact air freshener I had before I started this whole fragrant dance! So every few months, this whole cycle starts over again -> old becomes new -> bad becomes better...

After my epiphany I started to look at adverts differently and this same cycle happens for shampoo (all in one, separate shampoo and conditioner, for all hair types, for just one hair type), face crème (day-night, combined, one skin type, all skin types, ...),...

Are we becoming this saturated with ideas that there is no room for new ones? Have we come where innovation becomes reinvention of old ideas? It is a scary idea but is this what the future will bring... I wonder while relaxing in my sofa with my lavender candle casting a comforting glow over the living room and the scent of the Provence filling my nose.