Racquel Morney
English 103
November 2, 2011
Axe Commercial
Have you ever walked past a person of the opposite sex and found yourself
completely attracted to them because of the way they smelled? Well people believe that due
to a certain scents, you can attract people to you. According to sirc.org, “Women are indeed
highly sensitive to male pheromones”. In the Axe shower gel commercial, they are
conveying a message saying if men get this product they could get a women to do whatever
they want, and for women the message being conveyed is that women are willing to do
anything for a man who uses axe shower gel. They also want you to believe that their product
brings out a naughty side.
This commercial was directed mainly towards a young audience between the ages of
sixteen and the mid twenties most likely around 25 to 27. It excludes anyone younger
because a younger audience would not be able to provide the product for themselves. Maybe
if they had younger parents their parents would use the product but it could be seen as
inappropriate for anyone much younger because they are trying to sell the product with sex. I
believe they want the commercial viewers to be a little older because they are trying to sell
sex with their product but they also would not want a bad reputation by introducing sex to a
younger audience. Another reason why I believe the commercial was directed towards a
younger crowd is because they use a lot of bright colors. The background is very hue and
they connect the commercial to the people. By making the setting at the beach connects the
commercial to people who go to the beach, which would be teens and young adults.
Also, this commercial was directed towards the male and female gender. From a
man’s perspective, the commercial infers that if a man were to use this product he could get
women to do anything of his likings. The example shown was how all the girls who were
attracted to this man did exactly what he did which eventually would have led to taking their
bikini tops off. From a women’s perspective, the commercials initial message was to say a
women is willing to do anything for a man who uses axe shower gel. Although in the
commercial the girls did not take their tops off, they specifically had them untie there tops to
convey the message that they will do almost anything for him, and also that the product
makes you do naughty things.
The song that they play in the background goes along with the commercial. It is a
playful song that is basically saying what they are doing, which is washing their bodies. It
catches the attention of the main audience that they are trying to attract. As the guy lifts his
hands and expects the women to do it to, there is a pause in the music which gave the
commercial dramatic effects. It kept the audience anticipating and wondering if the women
were going to drop their bikini tops or not.
Although, the target audience is both male and female, I believe that men will be
more attracted to this commercial because you see all the women at the beach with their
bikinis on rushing to this one man using the axe shower gel. It is intended for every man to
think they could be like the man in the commercial who got all the attention by a bunch of
girls just because of the way he smelled. Women are less likely to be attracted to this
commercial because they might not like the idea of women catering to men’s needs or the
fact that a women is willing to reveal herself to a stranger just because of the way he smells.
It could make women look less powerful and easy. Times have changed and a lot of women
prefer for a man to cater to her needs first.
The commercial doesn’t exclude any financial static. Men of any income could buy
this product and it will be just as effective. The guy using the shower gel in the commercial
did not look like the wealthiest man or the poorest. He looked like an average guy who could
have even passed for a nerd, who was attracting women who looked like they could have
been models. This means that the product doesn’t exclude anybody whether their ugly or
average, the product will always work.
The overall message they want to leave you with after watching the commercial is
that their product can bring out a side to yourself that maybe you did not know you had. The
product will still do what it is suppose to do which is clean the body but they contrast it by
saying, “The cleaner you are, the dirtier you get”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9NnvAzuiSk&feature=related