Call me old fashioned, but I prefer my odor defense the tried-and-true way: In boring-old, 2-D clear gel. Sure it may not be as eye popping, or pull in the big headlines. But, you know, there’s something pure and less compromising about the artistry of the whole thing that way.

Perhaps, 3-D marketing has officially jumped the shark. Scanning the store shelves at a local drug store while I was on vacation, I came across this rather interesting package of Right Guard sport antiperspirant. I’ve always been into interesting marketing, clever consumer packaging and outlandish branding. Often, there are lessons there.

This time, I’m not so sure what to make of it. I think the only question here is: Can using the term “3-D” help sell more deodorant? I suppose yes, because, of course, I bought one out of sheer novelty… well, plus the Hawaiian humidity; a guy gotta do what a guy gotta do.

New 3-D Odor Defense
3-D: No special glasses or theater required!

Examining the packaging I could not see what made this 3-D edition different. There was no explanation of how it would be rendered in 3-D. Just a simple tag in yellow font: “3-D ODOR DEFENSE.” Perhaps I should just wait for the TED presentation instead.

Then I thought, hang on, I got it! It must be referring to 3 features, all starting with the letter “D”. I’d be wrong again; the features are: 24 hour protection; sweat blockers; and odor blockers. Not a single “D” word there.

Finally, I tried the stuff.

Amazingly I felt distinctly more vivid. The world around me was certainly eye popping. Better still, I didn’t even need to seek out my nearest 3-D theater for the experience.

Note: One bit of good news for makers of old 2-D stock. Unlike the expensive Hollywood conversions, it would appear this only requires two stickers.

Clinton shoots videos for Stark Insider. San Francisco Bay Area arts, Ingmar Bergman and French New Wave, and chasing the perfect home espresso shot 25 seconds at a time (and failing). Peloton: ClintTheMint. Camera: Video Gear