Mercedes Launches "First Fragrance for Men"

Many, many years ago, I had after shaves from Aramis and other expensive sounding French companies on my bathroom shelf. My agency had the account for a (now defunct) men’s series called “Care.” The ads always showed a naked man. I was not invited to work on the stuff and wrote about sexy things like double wishbones and overhead camshafts instead. I must have dreamt all that. Because today, Daimler sent me an email, announcing that they just launched “The first fragrance for men.” Not “their” first fragrance for men. “The” first fragrance for men.

It’s called “Mercedes-Benz Perfume” and, so we are told, it “has been composed by renowned perfumer Olivier Cresp (Firmenich).” It also “combines woody notes with floral freshness.”

Having been trained in sometimes tortured German logic, I thought: “Aha. Maybe they admit that it’s actually a perfume for guys. And they don’t hide it as and aftershave.” But no. Says the press release:

“’Mercedes Benz Perfume. The first fragrance for men’ has been created in partnership with the INCC Group and it will be available from selected specialist retailers from the first quarter of 2012, as an eau de toilette, after shave, deodorant and shower and body gel.”

So much for German logic.

And here is the kicker:

“The world of fragrance is not new to Mercedes-Benz: the company already offers exclusively developed perfumes for the atomisers in its Maybach models and in the Mercedes-Benz S 600 Pullman.”

Man, am I confused. And boy, am I glad that my Japanese wife asked me to even stop using the old Old Spice deodorant stick, “because the other guys on the Tokyo subway will think you are a fairy.”