AXE
VIRAL: ”Clean Your Balls”
ANALYSIS
The plot of the Axe viral video is to promote the Axe shower wash, the Axe Detailer,
by demonstrating the wash on different objects (sports balls). The video takes place in
a “teleshopping” like setting, consisting of a grey studio, an audience, a female host
and a female co-host. As in the Old Spice analysis, we will first analyse the visual
expression setting the background scene, including artefacts used, then analyse how
the spokespersons in the video appeals to the receiver.
The expressive function
The most central observation in the Axe video, are the two women and hosts trying to
promote the Axe body wash. The women are both young, blond, women who are safe
to say can be considered attractive due to their figure and styling. This choice in
actresses of Axe indicates the fact that they focuses on sex-appeal and strengthens the
n characteristic of sexual innuendo, which will be elaborated on later in this section.
The fact that the co-host is a professional tennis-player further adds a sporty character
to the product.
The video takes place in a large, grey, quite empty studio with a large, lightening Axe
sign in the background. It can be detected that the expressive function in this setting
doesn’t lay emphasis on bright sensory-filled colours, but rather on the simulation of a
teleshopping studio. Furthermore, the large Axe lightening sign in the background
creates attention and awareness as to what brand the viral is about.
The video consists of four main demonstrations on four different props. Firstly, the
co-host cleans a set of two golf balls. The camera simultaneously switches to a
younger, smaller guy from the audience who rubs himself in the hair, indicating a
sexual innuendo that the golf balls represent his testicles. Next, the co-host cleans two
fuzzy tennis balls, that a young guy with big black hair gave to her, indicating that the
Axe Detailer can also clean hairy testicles. A muscular, dark young man then gives
the co-host a large sack of footballs to clean, symbolizing a large testicles sack.
Finally, the co-host cleans two large worn sports balls, given to her by a man in his
80’s. When the co-host has cleaned the balls, they look very clean and shiny – so
different from the original balls that it is obvious for the viewer that it is not the same
old set of balls. This indicates that the Axe Detailer can even clean old testicles by
making them look completely shiny and new. However, this exact demonstration is so
ironic that it seems more like a joke than an example of a real user situation. The main
target group is hence young males, as in the previous demonstration.
The setting additionally consists of an audience of different looks and ages. The part
of the audience that is emphasized, however, are young guys who got their sports
balls cleaned by the co-host. The audience looks overly excited and applauses
frequently.
Rhetorical function
As in the Old Spice analysis, in terms of the rhetorical function, both Thorlacius’ use
of emotive and symbolic language and Aristotle are valid to look at.
Explicitly, the video speaks to men in every age group (mixed audience, 80 year old
man). However, implicitly the video seems to aim at only younger men and teenagers
due to the sense of humour reflected and the irony of the old balls demonstration.
To use Aristotle’s rhetoric’s, the appeal in this video is build on pathos. Pathos
represents an appeal to the receivers’ sexual emotions and humour, both visually and
verbally. The in the Old Spice viral, it is subjective and value-laden expressions,
which does not reflect the truth, thus it is emotive language.
Intensions of the viral:
As mentioned above, the Axe viral video aims to target young men by making a
humoristic video. The most central humoristic element is the fact that they are
creating a sexual innuendo by playing on the double meaning of the word “balls”.
Another element in trying to make the viral humoristic is the way it simulates and
ridicules teleshopping. The sales tricks in the viral are furthermore so obscene, fake
and exaggerated, which shows that the viral definitely intend to emphasize on pathos
(humour and sex) over ethos and logos. Lastly, although some viral are more discrete
in revealing which brand is behind the viral, Axe puts the brand in focus, indicating
an intension of creating or maintaining brand awareness.