What was advertising like in the 1960's?

Perfumes: Is Brut aftershave any different now from the 1960s?

• When I was a kid in the 1960s, seems like a girl would follow you anywhere for a sniff of Brut by Faberge. It was moderately expensive at the time. It fell out of fashion in the 1970s, became cheaper, and the advertising gradually went downmarket. No longer was it advertised by a smooth gentleman, but by a boxer in the shower gym ("splash on the great smell of Brut"). Then I forgot about it and didn't see it for many years, and certainly never in the expensive perfume counters. The other day I discovered it for sale in a bargain store at £2.99 about the same price of 40 years ago, even after all the inflation.  I bought a bottle out of curiosity, and it's not quite the same as my memory tells me, but who knows.  It's also now made by 'Unilever', not Faberge. My question is not just "Is Brut still the same?", but also "Is it possible to make a good perfume very cheaply?"

• Answer:

  Fragrances are highly regulated by IFRA and other internal company rules. Many of the raw materials that were once used, are today either not allowed at all or are very limited in use. As a result, companies are constantly reformulating the scents to the newest regulations. The benchmark is often the last allowed formulation. As a result, you can imagine that between reformulation #1 and reformulation #8, there are quite a few differences and yes the smell has changed over time!