I was interested - and a little amused - to see a story on the 'Stuff' website yesterday about a man in India who is suing the makers of Lynx deodorant because he has used the product for seven years and has still not been able to attract a woman.

According to the article, Vaibhav Bedi wants global giant Unilever to pay him $91,000 compensation for the "depression and psychological damage" he suffered when his bathroom products failed to create the desired 'Lynx effect' - an advertising campaign in which beautiful women become entranced by Lynx and are immediately attracted to the man wearing it. An Indian court appears to believe there is a case to answer and has accepted half-used body washes, shampoos, anti-perspirants and hair gels for forensic testing.

The 'Lynx effect' advertisements are also screened here, however I doubt that we will see such a case ever brought in New Zealand under consumer legislation. The Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) is the legislation that covers faulty goods and requires that all goods purchased befit for the purpose they are made for; be safe; be durable - last for a reasonable time; have no minor defects; be acceptable in look and finish.

Lynx complies with all of these conditions and - although it is implied - there is no express statement that wearing Lynx will enable an individual to attract members of the opposite sex.

As these advertisements have been screening on New Zealand for some time, it would also appear that there has been no breach of advertising standards - which say advertisements "must be truthful, balanced and not misleading" and "all claims must be valid and have been substantiated.

Possibly the best test in a situation such as this would be that of the 'reasonable person' - are the advertisements such that a 'reasonable person' would be fooled into believing that the 'Lynx effect' is an actual result of wearing Lynx products. My guess is that the answer would be no. The Lynx advertisements are clearly an exaggeration - as are many ads for other products - and should be taken with a grain of salt. The fact is that it would take a certain level of naivety to believe that scores of women could become entranced by an aerosol spray that can be found on supermarket, dairy and service station shelves throughout the world.