Make Love, Not War: An Axe Analysis
Make Love, Not War: An Axe Analysis
Advertisement Analysis
Matt Foster
UW-Madison, Journalism 201
Section 321
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Make Love, Not War: An Axe Analysis
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In a time period where violence and war is evident in every direction one
looks, a popular and well-known company has decided to step in and try to
encourage an era where we move away from a time of anarchy, and move closer to
achieving world peace. This company is Axe. In an advertisement found in the April
2014 issue of GQ Magazine, Axe showcases its new line of men’s fragrance products,
Axe Peace. Through a partnership with the organization Peace One Day, Axe is
utilizing this advertisement to target a wide, male demographic via social media and
alter the sexist stereotype that has been associated with the Axe brand in the past.
Slowly but surely, this ad and campaign are working toward achieving these goals.
As aforementioned in the introductory paragraph, this ad was found in GQ
Magazine. Through research provided in a media kit from Condé Nast, key
demographic elements are illuminated about GQ’s audience. The median age of
readers of GQ is 33.8, with seventy three percent of these readers being men. Sixty
eight percent of the audience is listed as single, and the majority of the readers have
some form of a college education (Condé Nast, 2014). These figures establish
reasonable insight as to whom Axe is targeting by placing this advertisement in GQ.
The typical demographic targeted by Axe in the past has been straight males
between the ages of 18-24 (Aleman 2013). However, this advertisement, and the
entire campaign overall, are targeting a much wider demographic. Considering the
median age and marital status of GQ readers, this advertisement was targeting
males ranging from 18 to roughly mid-40s (Peace One Day 2014). Geograpics are
also paired with this age demographic. Although the partnership between Axe and
Peace One Day has extended its reach to 50 countries, this ad was aimed at citizens
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of the US, due to the fact that GQ is primarily distribute in the US (Peace One Day
2014, GQ 2014). Americans are whom this ad was intended for, and they were the
audience reached.
Building up the brand image for a company is vital to what they are trying to
sell. The Axe brand has been referred to as sexist due to its history of ads and
campaigns that have associated their products with attracting girls. On Unilever’s
website, they state [in reference to Axe] that it’s “Cool, adventurous and designed to
keep guys a step ahead in the dating game” (Unilever 2014). In Coercion: Why We
Listen to What “They” Say by Douglas Rushkoff, he writes, “In the language of today’s
markets, brand images do not reflect on products but on advertisers’ perceptions of
their psychology (Rushkoff 1999).” Axe decided to change this sexist perception
through their focus on something new: psychographics.
Rushkoff states that, “Psychographics targeting is more effective than
demographic targeting because it reaches for an individual customer more directly,”
and “It’s smarter to think about emotions and attitudes, which all go under the term
‘psychographics’—those things that can transcend demographic groups (Rushkoff
1999).” This unorthodox Axe ad and campaign is using psychographics to promote
the idea of peace, and that by buying these products, the consumer can smell good
while also contributing to the movement of reaching world peace. Through the
employment of the 1960’s slogan “Make Love, Not War”, consumers will be lead to
love rather than aggression or hostility (Axe Peace 2014).
It’s crucial to note why this advertisement was placed in this specific issue as
well. One of the main headlines on the cover reads, “Our Third Annual Style Bible:
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Everything A Man Needs To Look His Best in 2014.” In a special issue that displays
advertisements for almost every kind of suit, watch, liquor, car and men’s fragrance
available, it makes logical sense that Axe put an ad in GQ, especially in this unique
April issue (GQ 2014). “If I want to be stylish, I definitely need to use this Axe Peace
fragrance to complete my wardrobe.” This is one type of mindset that Axe wants the
readers of this magazine ad to have, confirmed by GQ Magazine’s objective of
“providing definitive coverage of style and culture” (Condé Nast 2014).
The utilization of social media has become a necessity to the circulation of an
advertisement campaign, and in this case, the Axe Peace Project. In Coercion,
Rushkoff notes that, “New media and the youth culture raised within it have
demystified most of the traditional methods of marketing” (Rushkoff 1999). Social
media users are a target of this ad, which is evident through the portrayal of
#KISSFORPEACE. The process involves three steps. First, kiss a “rival” or someone
you care about, then take a picture capturing this moment, and finally upload this
image to Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook using that hash tag. With a majority of
these pictures featuring males in the intended demographic, Axe has certainly had
an effect on men in this age range. Axe’s use of this strategy is simple, yet clever;
when consumers post their pictures using this hash tag, they are actually another
form of advertisement for the Axe Peace product line! This is essentially free
advertising for Axe, and an even larger audience can be reached.
Advertising plays a vital role in any major company’s success. Axe is no
different. Although being known for outlandish advertisements and campaigns in
the past, Axe’s Peace Project shifted gears. Axe picked a prime magazine, GQ, to try
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and get their message out about not only their new product line, but also a
movement towards having world peace one day. By targeting a demographic of
men of the ages of 18 to mid-40s in this particular ad, and placing this
advertisement in a magazine that is typically read by this age range, Axe was
successfully able to promote its new product line, open their audience’s mind to the
idea of peace and making love, not war, and dispel the sexist connotation that is
associated with the Axe brand.
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Make Love, Not War: An Axe Analysis
Bibliography
The Axe Peace Project. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.axepeace.com/#about
Axe Peace. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.peaceoneday.org/axe-peace
GQ Media Kit. (2014). Retrieved from
https://www.condenast.com/brands/gq/media-kit/print
Axe. (2014). Retrieved from
http://www.unilever.com/brands-in-action/detail/Axe/292063/
Aleman, P. (2013). The Axe Effect. Retrieved from
http://medialiteracyproject.org/deconstructions/axe-effect
Rushkoff, D. (1999). Coercion: Why We Listen to What “They” Say, 162-192.
GQ Magazine. (April 2014). The Style Bible.