So you crave unvarnished customer feedback, do you? Need to validate your focus group results with on-the-street commentary? How about these comments from “Celeb Sniff & Scratch Test: Many Stars Are Peddling Scents. But Does Eye Candy Really Smell Like That?” in yesterday’s Washington Post?

… “Is this Britney’s? It is, huh?” asked Ginny Gettemeier, 28, a communications manager. She guessed right. “It smells slutty. It smells cheap. It smells like the stuff I wore in fifth grade.” She used to wear Electric Youth by Debbie Gibson. “(WaPo)

Funny thing – the Gibson/Spears-Federline lineage is popping up in more than one place:

“… I was in Macy’s in NYC recently, and I walked by a big perfume display that smelled exactly like Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth. Was it possible they had re-released the fragrance I loved as a teen? Nope. It was a display for Britney Spears’ new Fantasy perfume. I love the idea that they’re rebranding Debbie Gibson’s popstar scent for a new generation. I can’t figure out who the manufacturer of Electric Youth was, but if it’s the same company, I bet they just mixed up a new batch and put Britney’s name on it. If it’s a different company, something smells stolen.”(Pop Crazy)

Technorati: branding britney debbie gibson experiential