"The Axe Effect-Women-Billions"
This assignment was to analyze something in the media and point out what was right or wrong about the particular piece chosen. I chose to use a commercial that uses sex to sell a product because I feel that most companies that do this are very degrading to women and it needs to be brought to society's attention.
"The Axe Effect-Women-Billions"
Tall, dark, and handsome men are typically thought of as “dream men.” What woman doesn’t want to be with a man who has all of those characteristics? Every woman would be enthralled if a tan, 6 feet, 4 inch man with dark brown hair and blue eyes were interested in her. An even better scenario is if the man has an amazing personality to go along with the looks, this way the woman gets “the best of both worlds.” An automatic deal breaker for a woman is if the handsome, polite man has body odor. Everyone knows that if a man stinks while trying to get with a lady, the lady will not give him the time of day.
Axe’s commercial,“The Axe Effect-Women-Billions,” is a prime example of using sex to sell a product. In this particular commercial, you start out seeing one woman in a bikini, which is definitely too small for her, running through the woods. The camera focuses on her bust and face while she is running. She looks back as if someone is chasing her, then you are able to see dozens of other women in bikinis running in the same direction as her. It almost looks as if they might be chasing her. The camera then focuses on other women’s stomachs and busts as they are running through the woods, then you see women swimming in the ocean towards the shore as the women running through the woods are pushing each other out of the way as if they’re racing towards something. After this, the camera gives an aerial shot in which you can see hundreds of women running down a hill. Women in tiny bikinis start running out of the ocean and jumping off cliffs to race to the beach. A single man is standing on the beach showing off his muscles and applying body spray. Billions of women run towards him as if they cannot contain themselves and he has a look of pure joy upon his face. As the camera does another aerial shot of the women on the beach, words come across the screen that say, “Spray more, get more. The Axe effect.”
The women running around in tiny bikinis show that Axe is using sex to sell body spray. Men are obviously attracted to huge breasts and seeing women running around nearly naked. When you think about masculinity, a lot of people think of big, tough men who like the outdoors. This is portrayed in the commercial by showing the women in the woods, running to the beach where the man is located. When the aerial shot takes place and then you see the man spraying himself with body spray, it backs up the idea of women being somewhat shallow and attracted to the enticing scent of the man. The entire commercial portrays the idea, by saying “Spray more, get more. The Axe Effect,” that if a man wears Axe body spray, women will become these sexual creatures who will pounce on the opportunity of having sex with him. This tends to give men the idea that as long as they smell good, they will be able to get all the women they want.
This Axe commercial shows that the only important things about women are looks; therefore, these commercials do not only affect men, but also women. This shows the women as tall, thin, long hair, and big busted which makes women feel that in order to be beautiful, they must look like that. It portrays the idea that slightly overweight women cannot be beautiful or loved by good looking-and smelling-men. Women, more so than men, have so many pressures from society to fulfill the stereotype of being beautiful. These stereotypes are overrated; they are not only impacting women and girl’s self-image, but also becoming harmful towards them. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), “25% of college aged women engage in bingeing and purging as a weight-management technique.” This method of weight control is not only harmful to the body, but also damages physical appearance, which is usually why people acquire eating disorders in the first place. When people who are so caught up in how they look due to stereotypes start developing eating disorders, it is basically contradicting themselves because they are striving for perfection at the risk of imperfect teeth, in the example of someone with bulimia.
From experience, I know that the Axe commercials are affective because my boyfriend really does care about how he smells in order to be more attractive for me. When he goes shopping for body spray, he always takes me with him to smell a variety of scents and has me pick out which one I like best. He claims that the better he smells, the more likely I will be more attracted to him. However degrading this Axe commercial is, it is very effective because what man doesn’t want sex with erotic women? It is a proven fact that typical men think about sex a lot throughout the day so when they see this commercial, they probably think something along the lines of “If I get Axe body spray, women will like the way I smell which will increase my chances of ‘getting some.’”
Works Cited
ANAD. “Eating Disorder Statistics.” National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD.) N.p., 2013. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.anad.org/>.
“The Axe Effect –Women – Billions.” Commercial. Youtube. 5 Mar. 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tWZB7OUSU.
"The Axe Effect-Women-Billions"
Tall, dark, and handsome men are typically thought of as “dream men.” What woman doesn’t want to be with a man who has all of those characteristics? Every woman would be enthralled if a tan, 6 feet, 4 inch man with dark brown hair and blue eyes were interested in her. An even better scenario is if the man has an amazing personality to go along with the looks, this way the woman gets “the best of both worlds.” An automatic deal breaker for a woman is if the handsome, polite man has body odor. Everyone knows that if a man stinks while trying to get with a lady, the lady will not give him the time of day.
Axe’s commercial,“The Axe Effect-Women-Billions,” is a prime example of using sex to sell a product. In this particular commercial, you start out seeing one woman in a bikini, which is definitely too small for her, running through the woods. The camera focuses on her bust and face while she is running. She looks back as if someone is chasing her, then you are able to see dozens of other women in bikinis running in the same direction as her. It almost looks as if they might be chasing her. The camera then focuses on other women’s stomachs and busts as they are running through the woods, then you see women swimming in the ocean towards the shore as the women running through the woods are pushing each other out of the way as if they’re racing towards something. After this, the camera gives an aerial shot in which you can see hundreds of women running down a hill. Women in tiny bikinis start running out of the ocean and jumping off cliffs to race to the beach. A single man is standing on the beach showing off his muscles and applying body spray. Billions of women run towards him as if they cannot contain themselves and he has a look of pure joy upon his face. As the camera does another aerial shot of the women on the beach, words come across the screen that say, “Spray more, get more. The Axe effect.”
The women running around in tiny bikinis show that Axe is using sex to sell body spray. Men are obviously attracted to huge breasts and seeing women running around nearly naked. When you think about masculinity, a lot of people think of big, tough men who like the outdoors. This is portrayed in the commercial by showing the women in the woods, running to the beach where the man is located. When the aerial shot takes place and then you see the man spraying himself with body spray, it backs up the idea of women being somewhat shallow and attracted to the enticing scent of the man. The entire commercial portrays the idea, by saying “Spray more, get more. The Axe Effect,” that if a man wears Axe body spray, women will become these sexual creatures who will pounce on the opportunity of having sex with him. This tends to give men the idea that as long as they smell good, they will be able to get all the women they want.
This Axe commercial shows that the only important things about women are looks; therefore, these commercials do not only affect men, but also women. This shows the women as tall, thin, long hair, and big busted which makes women feel that in order to be beautiful, they must look like that. It portrays the idea that slightly overweight women cannot be beautiful or loved by good looking-and smelling-men. Women, more so than men, have so many pressures from society to fulfill the stereotype of being beautiful. These stereotypes are overrated; they are not only impacting women and girl’s self-image, but also becoming harmful towards them. According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), “25% of college aged women engage in bingeing and purging as a weight-management technique.” This method of weight control is not only harmful to the body, but also damages physical appearance, which is usually why people acquire eating disorders in the first place. When people who are so caught up in how they look due to stereotypes start developing eating disorders, it is basically contradicting themselves because they are striving for perfection at the risk of imperfect teeth, in the example of someone with bulimia.
From experience, I know that the Axe commercials are affective because my boyfriend really does care about how he smells in order to be more attractive for me. When he goes shopping for body spray, he always takes me with him to smell a variety of scents and has me pick out which one I like best. He claims that the better he smells, the more likely I will be more attracted to him. However degrading this Axe commercial is, it is very effective because what man doesn’t want sex with erotic women? It is a proven fact that typical men think about sex a lot throughout the day so when they see this commercial, they probably think something along the lines of “If I get Axe body spray, women will like the way I smell which will increase my chances of ‘getting some.’”
Works Cited
ANAD. “Eating Disorder Statistics.” National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD.) N.p., 2013. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. <http://www.anad.org/>.
“The Axe Effect –Women – Billions.” Commercial. Youtube. 5 Mar. 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tWZB7OUSU.