Blog Post #4

Looking through advertisements about which I could write my third essay has been a really interesting experience. This assignment forces me to look at advertisements not as a consumer, or a victim of manipulation, but as a critic. One advertisement that I have found particularly interesting, and I will probably be writing my essay about it, is Axe shower gel. Axe shower gel has many advertisements that manipulate consumers by promising them that they will attract women if they use Axe. The most interesting thing about this advertisement, however, is that Axe shower gel is exactly the same as any other shower gel; the only difference is the marketing and the packaging. While many other advertisements only allude to the prospect of attracting women, Axe says it explicitly. In fact, there were some Axe advertisements that were so outrageously inappropriate that I chose other ones to bring to class on Wednesday. These advertisements have a sexual appeal, which always sells products, but they are also extremely misogynistic. Many of them show men with multiple women, all of whom are barely clothed. They have presumably been attracted to the Axe and are nothing more than objects to the user. One of these advertisements even depicts a man spraying Axe, and, as he sprays it, a woman actually materializes. This woman has no choice as to whether she wants to be standing in a shower half-naked with the man who sprays the Axe, but she materializes anyway. Analyzing Axe advertisements has been particularly interesting for me because I, in fact, am a user of Axe shower gel. Previously I had thought that I use Axe by chance, or convenience, but who knows? Maybe I too am a victim of these manipulative advertisements.