Personal Hygiene Important To Canadians

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of Old Spice, when thinking of their own personal hygiene, half (48%) of Canadians say "I'm high maintenance, I constantly make an effort to look and smell great." Moreover, eight in ten (78%) say when on a first date with someone, their personal hygiene is "very important--personal hygiene can make or break the date."

Asked which of five things would most motivate them to use a scented body wash, deodorant, antiperspirant, or body spray, six in ten (57%) Canadians say "to simply make myself feel good." Canadians use scented body wash, deodorant, antiperspirant, or body spray a mean average of 5.8 days a week.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Old Spice poll conducted from June 7th to June 8th, 2004. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1001 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

When thinking of their own personal hygiene, half (48%) of Canadians say "I'm high maintenance, I constantly make an effort to look and smell great." Another 47% say "I just do the basics on a day-to-day basis but make an effort for special occasions" and just 4% say "I'm low maintenance, people should take me as I am."

  • Residents of Quebec (75%) are much more likely than those living in all other regions to say "I'm high maintenance, I constantly make an effort to look and smell great." The proportions for other regions are as follows: 34% in Alberta, 37% in British Columbia, 40% in Saskatchewan/Manitoba, 40% in Atlantic Canada, and 41% in Ontario.

  • Residents of Quebec (21%) are much less likely than those living in all other regions to say "I just do the basics on a day-to-day basis but make an effort for special occasions." The proportions for other regions are as follows: 51% in Saskatchewan/Manitoba, 53% in British Columbia, 53% in Atlantic Canada, 55% in Ontario, and 63% in Alberta.

  • Canadians 55 years of age or older are more likely than those 18-54 years of age to say "I'm high maintenance, I constantly make an effort to look and smell great" (55% vs. 45%), while those 18-54 years of age are more likely than their elders to say "I just do the basics on a day-to-day basis but make an effort for special occasions" (51% vs. 38%).

  • Women are more likely than men to say "I'm high maintenance, I constantly make an effort to look and smell great" (55% vs. 41%), while men are more likely than women to say "I just do the basics on a day-to-day basis but make an effort for special occasions" (52% vs. 41%).

  • Canadians with an annual household income less than $60,000 are more likely than those with more to say "I'm high maintenance, I constantly make an effort to look and smell great" (52% vs. 41%), while those with an annual household income of $60,000 or greater are more likely than those with less to say "I just do the basics on a day-to-day basis but make an effort for special occasions" (55% vs. 42%).

When asked, "suppose you were out on a first date with someone, how important would their personal hygiene, that is how they look and smell, be to you," virtually all (96%) Canadians say it would be important. Specifically, 78% say when on a first date with someone, their personal hygiene is "very important--personal hygiene can make or break the date" and 18% say "somewhat important--good personal hygiene is not crucial but is definitely a bonus." Just 3% of Canadians say it would not be important (1% "not very important--I could live with poor personal hygiene" and 2% "not at all important--personal hygiene is not something I would think about").

  • Residents of Ontario (83%) are most likely to say "very important--personal hygiene can make or break the date," followed by residents of Alberta (79%), Quebec (76%), Atlantic Canada (75%), British Columbia (75%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (69%).

  • Women are more likely than men to say "very important--personal hygiene can make or break the date" (82% vs. 74%), while men are more likely than women to say "somewhat important--good personal hygiene is not crucial but is definitely a bonus" (22% vs. 15%).

Asked which of five things would most motivate them to use a scented body wash, deodorant, antiperspirant, or body spray, six in ten (57%) Canadians say "to simply make myself feel good." Less popular responses are: "to feel fresh and clean after sports or other activities" (14%), "to revitalize and refresh during the hot, sticky Canadian summers" (9%), "to please my significant other or parents" (7%), and "to make a good impression on, or attract, someone of the opposite sex" (6%). Another 6% say "none" of these would most motivate them to use a scented body wash, deodorant, antiperspirant, or body spray.

  • Residents of Quebec (73%) are most likely to say "to simply make myself feel good," followed by residents of Alberta (62%), Ontario (54%), British Columbia (50%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (46%), and Atlantic Canada (43%).

  • Canadians 18-54 years of age are more likely than their elders to say "to feel fresh and clean after sports or other activities" (19% vs. 12%).

  • Women are more likely than men to say "to simply make myself feel good" (65% vs. 50%), while men are more likely than women to say "to feel fresh and clean after sports or other activities" (17% vs. 12%). Canadians use scented body wash, deodorant, antiperspirant, or body spray a mean average of 5.8 days a week.

  • Canadians 18-34 years of age (6.15 days a week) use scented body wash, deodorant, antiperspirant, or body spray most often, followed by those 35-54 years of age (5.97), then those 55 years of age or older (5.20).

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900

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