Lynx Africa deodorant discontinued: Has it gone or is this just another Lipton Ice Tea hoax? Answer - it's just a marketing ploy

The nostril-assailing Lynx Africa has long been the smell of the 3.40pm bus and football changing room, alongside a range of other sprays whose names bore little relation to their fragrance. But now Lynx has announced that it is to be discontinued.

In a post on X the company said: “You may have heard that our iconic Lynx Africa scent is getting discontinued. We know - it hurts (sorry if we’ve ruined your go-to fragrance), but don’t worry, the rest of your faves are still here to keep you smelling fine. And who knows? Maybe one day, Lynx Africa will make a legendary comeback.

“We appreciate your understanding during this period of adjustment and apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

The mention of a “legendary comeback” does, however, smell a lot like the Lipton peach ice tea brouhaha of a couple of days ago in which an announcement of discontinuation sparked widespread sadness among lovers of the delicate soft drink. However, a couple of hours later, the company admitted it was an “early April Fool’s” prank - or in other words, a lie. The unfunny episode has probably backfired as it left a sour taste in the mouth. And perhaps this is just a marketing ploy too.

The Lynx announcement has seen - as you’d expect - wags on X get their money’s worth.

“Great... Now my sense of smell won't be able to warn me that I'm about to get mugged…” said one, while another posted “Well that's Christmas 2025 cancelled. Well done, I hope you're happy with yourself.”

The Lynx admin was enjoying themselves too - in response to someone saying “What will I get for Christmas now ffs?” they replied “Maybe something you actually asked for”, and to one comment pointing out it was not April 1, they replied “This is deadly serious”.

But for those of us who were teenagers in the 90s, the acrid smell will take us back decades, just as Proust’s madeleines transported his narrator back in time. Perhaps this post has worked on me - maybe I will go and get one more can for old times’ sake.

Updated: Of course, it was just a marketing ploy. This time, to publicise a redesign of the can.

Lynx has posted another tweet saying “Christmas is saved... sorry to all the panicked nans who almost had a meltdown.”

Lads, it isn’t big or clever to do this “boy crying wolf stuff”. Yes, we’ve ended up talking about it but it’s just so... tiresome. Please find a new gambit that doesn’t involve untruths.