Product type | Deodorant/antiperspirant |
---|---|
Owner | Colgate-Palmolive |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 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 unknowingly named after the deodorant.[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]
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.