Practices at the limit

Deodorant for 72 hours – how far can advertising go?

Around two thirds of Austrians use deodorant.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Yakobchuk Olena - stock.adobe.com)

On the billboard on the train platform, during TikTok videos on your cell phone or during the main evening movie on the sofa - no one can escape advertisements. A slogan here, a pithy slogan there, consumers are promised true miracles. But how far can advertising go? Krone+ took a look at the guidelines.

You are standing body to body on the streetcar, longing for the next stop. Your gaze falls on the advertising space of a deodorant manufacturer boasting a 72-hour effect. The question inevitably arises: "72 hours - can that really be true? And why doesn't the person next to me try it?"

Until 2011, advertisers were still happy with the 48-hour deodorant. But that wasn't enough. It had to be 72 hours. Occasionally, the number 96 has even found its way onto the packaging. What madness. People who don't shower for 72 or 96 hours generally don't use deodorant. Around a third of the population do not spray, smear or roll a fragrance mixture under their armpits. Manufacturers also know that 72 and even more 96 hours of fresh fragrance are pure illusion. Krone+ took a look at whether such bold promises are allowed: