Shawn Henfling looks at the cultural phenomena of Axe and how it teaches guys that they aren’t good enough and women should be objectified or worse.
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Axe products have essentially become a cultural phenomenon. It seems as though every male from puberty through high school reeks of their product. Their marketing campaigns teach young men that without their products, they have no chance at landing the hot girl. Their ads scream, “YOU NEED US. YOU CAN’T DO THIS WITHOUT US.” I’ve had an adolescent and teenage son. They feel like every hygiene product they own requires an Axe label.
It’s time we start asking questions though. The advertising Axe uses targets the sexual drive of adolescent males. Their ads are specifically designed to objectify women and place them into the lives of men for sexual gratification. The latest ad, pictured below, doesn’t just cross that line, it blows past it with a super human leap.
Most parents want their kids to have friends. Most of us have managed to maintain platonic relationships as we grew into adulthood. On the other hand, this ad manages to tell kids those relationships are neither healthy nor normal. Not only have they managed to objectify the women in the photo, all of whom are busty and slim, but they’ve managed to emasculate the guy in the picture as well. The message here, of course, is that hot women shouldn’t be your friend. If they are, you simply aren’t a real man.
Nothing about this picture is OK. “If you help her choose the clothes someone else will tear, she’s seeing you with braids.” The ad is telling us that someone we can assume to be male will be tearing her clothes off later. The image I get from that statement isn’t one of passionate sex. Instead, my mind goes to a date rape scenario. I suppose it’s possible that I’m looking for the worst in this. I find it hard to believe that the folks in charge of advertising missed this reference. I’m going to guess this was an intentional shot across the bow.
Take note also of our friend zone guy in this photo. This guy was chosen because he has a slight frame. He fits the image of the stereotypical nerd, always the friend and never the lover. They’ve crafted his image with great care. Everything down to his shoes fits a stereotype. The designer even added insult to injury and added the braids from the brilliant quote above.
When ads like this hit our Twitter feeds and Instagram accounts, they educate our children. They teach our sons that they aren’t good enough. Axe ceases to become a simple deodorant or body wash. Instead, it becomes a weapon in their arsenal against women. For our young women, the education is worse. It’s bad enough the photoshopped pictures girls see every day convince them to hold unrealistic expectations for their own bodies. What are we telling them then if we teach them that every guy expects sex?
I don’t expect Axe to change its marketing strategy. By all accounts, it’s been tremendously successful. As I said earlier, seems like every teenage boy these days absolutely stinks of it. On the other hand, in an era where we are more aware of the impact media imaging has on our kids, you’d think there would be more outrage from concerned citizens. Maybe I’m just an overprotective parent. Perhaps, but maybe I’m justifiably disturbed and angered by the message being sent to my children.
Photo Credit: Miel Van Opstal
Good article. As someone who rarely pays attention to ads and lives in a place where axe is, or was, inexistent in terms of highschool and below using it ( all these complaints about its smell truly baffle me) it still angers me to see companies still resorting to stuff like this. However, like many other people here, i must say that you indeed are looking into the worst of things when it comes to tearing off clothes. Taking from what ive seen on tv and the like, to me , the tearing off thing refers to when two people… Read more »
While I agree with your main thesis, this particular ad was produced by a Mexican company for a campaign in South & Central America. That also raises interesting questions regarding race & culture, perhaps, but “finally” doesn’t seem like the right adverb five years later.
http://www.themarysue.com/axe-body-spray-ad-dove/
Shawn, thank you for writing a piece about how men’s marketing is harmful to men and women alike. I personally think there needs to be more introspection around the type of media that’s geared to men and how it alienates men from themselves and how it alienates them from their real relationships with women.
I actually love marketing, but I really, really don’t like this ad. I agree with you that it is disparaging to both men and women. It powerfully validates male and female insecurities. I like what Luzy said about marketing living off of people’s low self esteem. The use of psychology in marketing is very powerful stuff, and like anything powerful like that, it can be used for good or bad. Validating people or tearing them to shreds and I really believe “good” marketing can be plenty successful. Oh crud, there was something else I was going to say, but the… Read more »
Not that I like Axe or their advertising in paticular, but isn’t validating insecurities kind of like a cornerstone in most any kind of advertising?
Not necessarily, I mean, simply being aesthetically appealing and memorable can be very effective. Playing on insecurities is effective, but it’s a pretty crappy thing to do.
One thing I think you missed is why is she dressing in front of him. It’s because he’s not a threat. I might be biased because I actually torn a piece of a lady’s shift during an amorous encounter. It was perforated at the bottom to make the length adjustable. I’m not a brute. She gave it to me as a memento. I still have the piece somewhere. Now, I think to a large extent you’re over reacting. Axes marketing strategy plays on men’s fear of rejection by being forced to be the initiators. If I remember correctly in some… Read more »
When someone rejects another person, not necessarily means that the other person isn’t good enough. I have been rejected and have rejected. Sometimes for whatever reason people aren’t into you all the time. We should teach our youth that our value as people has nothing to do with how others perceive us. However, then none will buy cheap deodorants or any other unnecessary crap to get others attention. Marketing lives off people low self esteem…
Yeah that’s about how I see it. Hell, two of my best friends are people I used to have unreciprocated feelings for. The way people act as if not wanting to date you=not valuing you or caring about you as a person is absolutely goddamn ridiculous. I think that’s what really pisses me off about this ad in particular, the way it implies that a relationship between two straight people of the opposite sex that is neither romantic nor sexual is worthless makes me wanna tear out somebody’s guts. Also, the whole “seeing you with braids” thing, equating femininity with… Read more »
And everybody knows braids are feminine, right?
Look, I agree with you, but I really don’t think “tear off” in this case is meant to mean “rape.”
I noticed this in a few other places as well where people were trying to tie this into date rape or sexual assault.
Yeah I don’t think that’s what Axe is trying to sell.