The Effects of Advertisement: Axe

Aborting Axe Visual culture and social norms presented in our everyday life influence the way we think about gender. In “Becoming Members of Society”, author, Aaron Devor discusses how society impacts our gender identity. Advertisement consumes the public life and shapes how we view ourselves. Axe Deodorant is a brand of male grooming products known to spark controversy all over the world for their commercials and ads. For the Axe Cottage scent that came out in 2008, a sexist, stereotypical commercial was also delivered to its consumers to advertise the new scent (Axe). The commercial displays a cottage with a variety of attractive girls that are all miserable because… they simply need a man. The Axe ad reinforces the stereotypical analysis that Aaron Devor focuses on by recognizing women to be vulnerable, weak and dependent while men are needed, strong and independent. Commercials and ads are purely presented to attract the attention of consumers. Every product or service is more popular to one group of consumers than others depending on their interests, comforts and values. As a result, every company tries to target a specific group to have an increase success rate in selling their products. Axe Deodorant clearly states who their targeted consumers are: young males. The commercial starts and ends with confused girls in this “Axe Cottage” that they are located at. One girl cannot apply sunscreen lotion on her own back, while another girl has breakfast ready to be served without anyone to serve it to and several girls look depressed because they have no one to do activities with. The commercial finally ends with bold words stating, “You’re needed at the Axe Cottage”(Axe). The commercial clearly depicts that there is disorder in the cottage without the presence of a man. In every scene, each girl is tragically confused on why there is not a man around. The commercial shows that women cannot perform daily activities if a male figure is not around to help them.