Lynx

Lynx is celebrating 25 years helping guys get ahead in the mating game. Find out more about the history of the Lynx effect here – from the deodorants to the adverts.

The legendary Lynx effect

“My God, what is that smell?” – a disgusted Veronica Corningstone

“That's the smell of desire, my lady.” – Brian Fantana

Here at lynx, while we salute the sentiment of Sex Panther – the cologne made famous by 2004 film Anchorman –we’ve hit on a slightly more successful formula. In fact, we’re celebrating our 25^th year creating cool, seductive fragrances and innovative products that give guys the tools to get ahead in the mating game.

And it must be working – because right now over 8 million blokes across the UK & Ireland use Lynx every day. That puts a can of Lynx in 1 of every 4 households in the UK.

But it’s not just the products guys love. Lynx’s popularity is also down to its cutting-edge, award-winning marketing campaigns. From TV ads featuring the likes of Kelly Brook, to interactive Facebook campaigns starring Keeley Hazell and Jessica Jane Clement – Lynx constantly delivers ads that quickly become part of the British guy’s psyche.

How it all started

Originally launched in France back in ’83 (where it’s called Axe), Lynx was introduced to the UK just a couple of years later in ’85. The first body spray to be launched as a stand-alone brand, Lynx originally came in 3 fragrances: Amber, Musk and Spice. And with its distinctive black and silver cans, it quickly became associated with male sexual potency. Like Brian Fantana also said: “60% of the time, it works every time.”
Since then, the Lynx Institute of Attractiveness has created dozens of fragrances, all designed in order to give our customers the edge in the mating game. Past legends include Lynx Africa, Lynx Vice and Lynx Boost, while our latest creations boast invigorating shower gels (Fever and Rise), smaller sprays for guys on the move (Bullet), deodorants designed for guys with sensitive skin (Dry+ Sensitive) – and even a spray that changes fragrance to keep girls interested (Lynx Twist).

Where are we now?

Our latest fragrances have been backed up by some seriously cool activity. When Twist launched in January 2010, the notoriously iconic TV ad was supported by a crazily-interactive video for our Facebook fans, starring Keeley Hazell and The Inbetweeners’ Blake Harrison. Again proving that Lynx is at the forefront of advertising.
Other campaigns in 2010 included a series of online videos for Lynx Rise that showed what happened when you DIDN’T use the product, and weren’t alert enough to get the girl (which got over 2 million views), a hilarious Top Gun rip-off TV ad introducing Dry+ Sensitive, plus the launch of a limited edition fragrance – Musicstar.
To go with this launch, we also offered our fans the chance to win tickets to the Lynx All Nighter, where they’ll ‘Party like a Musicstar’, alongside acts like Prof Green, Roll Deep, Mylo and Wiley.

All in all, things are looking rosy for Lynx. And smelling better all the time.

Did you know?

Women follow their nose when searching for a partner. A survey has found that women rate the smell of a man as more important than his looks as it apparently indicates how healthy he is – and therefore how healthy his offspring might be
British men worry about their self image, with personal freshness, bad breath and body odour causing the most stress
Guys are fast catching up to their female counterparts’ love of grooming products, with 53% of men claiming to use two or more products in the shower
One in 4 UK households has a Lynx product

For information on the Lynx range of products call the customer careline free on 0800 585204 in the UK and on 1850 404060 in Ireland.