Spray more, get more: masculinity, television advertising and the Lynx effect

There has been a recent growth in both the advertising of male grooming products and the sales of such products in Britain and, as such, it is important that we examine the representations of men, masculinity and the male role that are being used to advertise and indeed sell this new and growing market sector. After all, advertising cannot help but influence both our purchasing decisions and our wider understanding of sex and gender roles in society. Therefore, this article seeks to examine the depiction of the male in a series of Lynx television adverts that have aired in Britain since the mid-2000s, considering the ways in which such texts simultaneously conform to and challenge dominant images of masculinity.