Teen Spirit (deodorant)

Teen Spirit

An earlier Teen Spirit Stick deodorant, with an "Orchard Blossom" scent
Product type	Deodorant/antiperspirant
Owner	Colgate-Palmolive
Country	United States
Introduced	1991; 33 years ago (1991)
Markets	Worldwide
Previous owners	The Mennen Company (1991–1992)
Website	Teen Spirit

Teen Spirit is a deodorant, originally sold by Mennen, then Colgate-Palmolive (after Colgate-Palmolive acquired Mennen in 1992).^[1]

Teen Spirit was first released by Mennen early in 1991, and with heavy advertising campaigns, it had soon "established a market niche" with teen girls.^[2] Sales were boosted by the grunge band Nirvana's song "Smells Like Teen Spirit",^{[citation needed]} which Kurt Cobain named after the deodorant, after reading graffiti on his bedroom wall written by Kathleen Hanna.^[3][4]

When Mennen was acquired by Colgate-Palmolive in 1992, the Teen Spirit brand was said to be the most popular product of its kind in the US and was the favorite of nearly 1/4 of all teenage girls.^{[citation needed]} Because of its immense popularity, Colgate-Palmolive planned to begin a new hair-care line with the Teen Spirit name. The new hair-care products were released in August and sold well, as expected.^[5] The Teen Spirit name began to lose its share of the market, just as the song with the same name started to drop off the charts.^{[citation needed]} Before long, the company was forced to drop the hair-care line, but kept the deodorants.^{[citation needed]} Today, all that is left of the Teen Spirit franchise is "Teen-Spirit Stick". Teen Spirit Stick is now only offered in two fragrances: Pink Crush and Sweet Strawberry. It is available in either the 1.4 or 2.3 ounce (40 or 69 gram) sizes.^{[6][dead link‍]}

Scents

• Pink Crush
• Sweet Strawberry^[7]
• Discontinued scents:
  • Berry Blossom
  • Pop Star
  • Baby Powder Soft
  • Romantic Rose
  • California Breeze
  • Ocean Surf
  • Caribbean Cool
  • Orchard Blossom
  • Cool Coconut

References

1. "Colgate History". Retrieved 20 January 2016.
2. "Innovation still key for Mennen". 17 June 1991. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
3. "Kathleen Hanna on how she named 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'". ABC.net. 23 September 2016.
4. Charles R. Cross (2001). Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain. New York: Hyperion. p. 175. ISBN 0-7868-6505-9. At the time, no one in the band knew of the deodorant, and it wasn't until ['Smells Like Teen Spirit'] was recorded and mastered that anyone pointed out it had the name of a product in it.
5. "Colgate Aims to Capture Teens". Archived from the original on 2013-01-25. Retrieved 2006-07-03.
6. "Physlabs Store". Retrieved 2006-07-03.
7. "Teen Spirit Customer Reviews, Scent Name: Sweet Strawberry". Amazon.com. Retrieved 20 January 2016.

External links

• Colgate-Palmolive Homepage
• Teen Spirit Home Page
• Smells like Teen Spirit Commercial from 1992