Air fresheners have become a household product in most homes today.  More and more types of air fresheners hit the market every month, ranging from plug-ins to scented candles to sprays.  Spray air fresheners use aerosol cans to admit their fragrance.  Febreze, Oust, Glade, and many other air fresheners have capitalized on the recent boom in air fresheners to produce many kinds of sprays that sanitize, de-odorize, and come in various scents.  But are these air fresheners as innocent as their manufacturers would have you believe?

Why the sudden obsession with air fresheners?  Were Americans really that smelly without Febreze?  Marketers would like you to think so.  The increase in advertisements for people to smell “clean” air has expanded manufacturers’ range of costumers.  According to the New York TImes, air fresheners started in the 1950s with Glade, marketed at suburban families to get rid of cooking and tobacco smells.  View one of the first Glade commercials, where air fresheners are marketed towards women to make their homes smell fresh.  Since then, the air freshener industry has flourished.  Americans spent $1.7 billion on air fresheners in 2003.  Now, marketers have targeted a newer consumer base: college kids.  Procter and Gamble introduced Febreze in 2004 after the market for air fresheners grew.  The company put marketing and money behind Febreze, and sales of the whole industry increased 50%, or $600 million, from 2003 to 2007.  Febreze is popular with college kids who go out to bars and are left with clothes that smell like smoke.  Procter and Gamble created Febreze ads targeted towards this demographic, using 20-somethings to make Febreze seem cool.  In fact, one of the first products Procter and Gamble designed was made to look like a CD player.                    

            In 2006, over 1,000 air fresheners hit the market.  Companies say they are responding to consumer demand and that fragrance is an expression of individuality.  But are companies responding to consumer demand, or are consumers responding to the onslaught of marketing techniques and advertisements thrown at them?  Glade increased spending by $30 million a year after Febreze was put on the market.  Febreze commercials make up 30% of air freshener commercials, and Procter and Gamble spent $58 million for Febreze commercials in nine months of 2006, while SC Johnson lagged slightly behind, spending $55 million.  Companies aren’t just marketing towards the general public; they’re targeting tweens, teenagers, and college kids.  SC Johnson has a Scented Oil Light Show for tweens with lights and scents like Berry Burst.  The company even developed a website for the Light Show and conducted a contest to win a day with High School Musical star Vanessa Anne Hudgens.  Glade Create-a-Scent Plug-Ins attract young people by allowing them to create their own scents.  Air Wick has animated animals in their commercials.  Teenagers have more buying power today than they ever have, and they’re spending some of their money on air fresheners.

            Another factor playing into the “scent” craze is the recent popularity of aromatherapy.  The idea that scent has power over moods is an ancient idea and has recently become a popular idea in the West.  Companies are tapping into this aromatherapy movement, releasing all kinds of scent and air freshening products.  Consumers use air fresheners as aromatherapy  to create a certain ambiance.  

            By pouring money into advertisements and marketing, companies are using the media to construct an image of how happy and clean air fresheners make people.  Consumers feel they need air fresheners, or else their house may smell bad.  Marketing creates the social force of needing an air freshener in every house, and eventually, every room.  Using air fresheners from aerosol cans can be especially harmful to the environment, due to both the ingredients inside and the can itself.