the power of nature!!!

[alexr_rwx]

Identity is an interesting thing, particularly with how it works in with advertising.

I woke up and looked at my deodorant, considered the sort that I, for whatever reason, chose at the pharmacy:

I think, honestly, I bought it because it was funny.

But! I mean, look at it! How much more masculine could any toiletry item possibly hope to be? I mean, not only is it "Speed Stick" -- implying that ever-so-manly quality, speed, and, well, a stick... but also it's got the POWER OF NATURE -- LIGHTNING FLAVOUR!! And apparently NBA players all use it! Yow!

This brings up something interesting, just with the name "speed stick". I think the choice of name has to do with the tendency that people have to use less-specific terms to describe common items... a computer, for example, becomes a "machine", or in a really familiar situation, a "box". You talk about "a 512 stick" when you're in the market for some new RAM. Similar things happen with cars, I think -- car aficionados do something similar, yes? So in all of the masculinity and familiarity attached to the deodorant, you couldn't help but call it just a stick. And now I feel super-fast and powerful and much closer to achieving my childhood dream of getting into the NBA!!

I'm wondering two things:

- Do women do this as well, the genericising-the-important-items thing?
- ... what was the other thing I was wondering?

Comments

[agonistes]

*is too busy snickering to say anything really coherent*

I think I'm not so amused by the complete and utter manliness of your anti-perspirant as by the pitch pipe and Play-Doh in the background. Because somehow, that just rounds everything out brilliantly.

As for whether women do this as well...I honestly have no clue. Hee. :D :D :D

[pyrona.livejournal.com]

Well... doesn't every man want to have a nice, speedy *cough* stick?

It's trying to subliminally appeal to your... er... manliness... so to speak.

Really. I'm not just a pervert who's pulling BS out of thin air ;P

[oniugnip.livejournal.com]

Nah, you're just being literary :)

It's all about the phallic symbols -- we should be used to them by now, considering where we go to school! I mean, I'm hanging out in the CoC, and yesterday, I walked right past The Shaft... I didn't think it was terribly subliminal.

[reality-calls.livejournal.com]

Hey, I just realized, I draw, design, and analyze phallic symbols for a living!

So, you think your "stick" is speedy, do you?   Well, mine does mach 3!   It's all I can do to control it at that speed; that's why I take classes on it.   Don't want to run out of "fuel" too quickly, you know!   And it's all due to those two enormous engines underneath...

I always wondered what mysterious subconscious forces attracted me to aerospace engineering...

"Live from the People's Republic"

[oniugnip.livejournal.com]

*laughs aloud*

Richard, the extent to which you're a comedic genius is, well, very large.

(note: "extent" and "large" were used in the same sentence)

[scottique.livejournal.com]

*starts to say something about the pros and cons of 'speedy sticks'*

*refrains*

*starts again*

*refrains again*

Never mind. I'm not leaving a comment.

[scottique.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to think of uniquely feminine/female things that get turned into short, undescriptive packages... the first one that comes immediately to mind is the slang term "rag," for one's menstrual cycle (used in a sentence, "X is on the rag" or "X is ragging"). And, well, I'm too discombobulated to come up with anything else, so we'll leave it there, eh?

[eponis.livejournal.com]

Hrm. Unfortunately, your picture link isn't working for me.

. . . though from your descriptions, Lightning-scented Speed Stick is a deodorant I've used in the past. (Of course, I'm also using Old Spice Original now - though it was bought for me, I swear!)

As for genericizing-important-items . . . ::thinks:: I can't think of anything, but then I can think of very few "ultra-feminine" items. ::shrugs::