It worked for cigarette makers. Get teens hooked on nicotine and you’ll have them for life. Personal care products companies are hoping that approach will work for them as well. Case in point, a national cheerleading competition held last month. Girls walked away with cans of hair spray, mascara, deodorant, shaving cream and razors.

“Forces are making it very difficult for advertisers to connect with young people,” said a representative from a youth marketing agency. “So advertisers are going into schools, forging new platforms for youth connection.”

It’s not just the girls either. Old Spice sent 100s of sample of its Red Zone body wash and deoderant to thousands of high school football teams in an attempt to woo young guys into considering the brand.

It’s probably a good marketing strategy too, as nearly half of teens talk about personal care and beauty products, compared with just 29% of the general public, according to a study by research firm Keller Fay Group.

Of course, the examples above are for jocks and cheerleaders. What about the nerds? What do they get, pimple cream?

Article Tags: personal care products | teen product marketing
Filed under: Advertising, Campaign Critiques, Product Placement