<story><title>How Advertisers Convinced Americans They Smelled Bad </title><url>http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-Advertisers-Convinced-Americans-They-Smelled-Bad-164779646.html?c=y&amp;story=fullstory</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>rauljara</author><text>The best[1] advertising is the kind that informs people that a solution to their very real problems exists.&lt;p&gt;The worst[1] advertising is the kind that convinces you you have a problem you don&apos;t really have.  It aims to make unhappy with what you have or who are when you would otherwise have been content.&lt;p&gt;Sometimes it seems to me like our society gets shaped more by the worst kinds of advertising than the best.&lt;p&gt;[1] By best and worst, I mean most beneficial to the person/people viewing the advertisement.  An advertiser or deodorant executive would probably have a different opinion on the matter.</text></comment>
<story><title>How Advertisers Convinced Americans They Smelled Bad </title><url>http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-Advertisers-Convinced-Americans-They-Smelled-Bad-164779646.html?c=y&amp;story=fullstory</url></story><parent_chain></parent_chain><comment><author>powertower</author><text>Do you know what the bigger story is here?&lt;p&gt;You can purchase a mineral salt-rock crystal (it&apos;s a smooth solid peace of salt, about as cheap as it gets) &quot;de-odorant&quot; that you wet and apply, it leaves nothing behind except an undetectable amount of salt on the skin. That is ... no chemicals, no fragrances, nothing but salt.&lt;p&gt;That salt kills-off the bacteria that are responsible for odor (through various means, directly and indirectly).&lt;p&gt;After a week or two of this, you&apos;re done.  Your sweat lessens, and becomes clear and odorless.&lt;p&gt;No more deodorant is required after this. Just shower and apply some soap to your skin.&lt;p&gt;The bigger story here is that advertisers have convinced you that their more expensive &quot;formulas&quot; are required, and there are no good alternatives.&lt;p&gt;Their products are specifically designed not to kill-off the bacteria, and hence to keep you purchasing the product.&lt;p&gt;They do this because you can&apos;t make money selling a $1 peace of salt-rock that lasts the customer a life-time.</text></comment>