axe commercial

The current Axe print advertisement in question is part of a global campaign to promote its new line of “Peace” products, trying to strike down the sexist image it had previously. Axe partnered with a non-profit organization called Peace One Day and aims to promote peace in the world by an anti-war agenda and also gender equality. An end to the gender wars. This is an example of using polysemy through the slogan “Make Love, Not War”, which is the use of the phrase to incorporate multiple meanings. The ad is directed at both males and females, unlike other Axe advertisements in the past, and so both men and women are considered the inscribed reader. According to the deputy executive director of Axe in London, David Kolbusz, “It's a theme we've been playing with for a while now, the equilibrium of the sexes. This is just the first time we've done it in this more serious way.” (Nudd, 2014, para. 9)
The idea that Axe is moving into different territory by attempting to equalize men and women sexually is emergent discourse. Scripts of lust and hyper sexuality are giving way to scripts of “Make Love, Not War”. This can be seen as a desirable outcome for a female audience of the Peace products. If this is a successful outcome, women’s views on Axe will shift, they will purchase the products for their partners and profits will increase. When the deputy executive director was asked if this new message of love and equality instead of lust and gender wars was possible or believable in an Axe campaign, he stated that “the brand has been slowly evolving for a while now.” (Nudd, 2014, para. 8)
Using war in an advertisement campaign is an ambitious marketing tool that Axe tries to combine gracefully with peace and sexuality. The scene of the ad is based in a war zone on a beach featuring an array of different scenarios. There are soldiers, fighter jets, helicopters, a soldier with a flame thrower and smoke seeping into the sky in the background. Amidst all the