Advertisement Analysis of Axe Deodorant

An Analysis of Axe Advertisement

Advertisements have become an important part of our daily lives. In every corner of the world several kinds of advertisements fill people’s lives. They can be informative, amusing or even steamy depending upon the kind of product they are advertising. Marketers use these ads to attract and appeal to their targeted customer audience. If the targeted group is the youth, the ad either reflects energy or can be a bit steamy, meant to charm. If several of these products are a hit then their marketing is an important reason behind it. Marketing and advertising are important support behind the sale of products. Even good products need to be advertised.  These ads are used to communicate with the customer audience and to call them to action. How strong the call is makes an advertisement effective or not. A successful ad makes a strong call and ineffective one makes a weak call.

Axe is a maker of grooming products. Its most ads are full of steam because they try to appeal to a customer segment that likes sensational products. Axe deodorant ads sometimes can be interesting like short movies with an interesting plot. These ads are steamy because Axe products are marketed as very masculine. These products are advertised in a manner to convey the message that they are going to add to your masculine charm. Axe ads excite and carry a general theme of masculine beauty for men. Beauty is not just the domain of the women. In the 21^st century the men are also conscious of their charm and appeal. They too like being appreciated for their masculine charm. This ad under discussion is like a short interesting movie and takes us through various periods in time. It starts with the Eskimos wearing bear skin. There is the use of ethos, pathos and logos in this ad. All the three kind of rhetorical appeals are used to create the right appeal in the advertisement.

Beauty is also a men’s weakness and this ad seems to be exploiting the weakness very well. The ad shows a romantic young man clad in bear skin watching a beautiful girl from another Eskimo family. He is trying to light fire and watching the girl. Soon, it becomes difficult for him to withstand the beauty of her appeal and so he starts to move towards her. As soon as he starts ice-plate breaks and the two are separated. The ad moves on and the next scene is of Pompei. A young man sees a beautiful face in the crowd but as soon as he starts moving towards her the volcano in the background explodes. The ad starts with an emotional appeal. Romance is an emotion connected with teenagers and youth. The romance that shows at the beginning of the ad shows that the ad is trying to target the young audience.  There is the use of emotional appeal throughout the advertisement.  The scene in the ad moves on to a King’s court. A young man in the court sees a beautiful face among the people standing there. Suddenly, all people bow to the king and then the King raises a finger towards the beauty the young man was watching and lo another opportunity is gone. The ad goes on and passes through several eras from Cowboys fighting in a pub to Titanic to a war scene and then approaches its end.

The ad opens with a romantic scene and engages the audience by intensifying their romantic feelings. Towards the end, the ad gets intensely romantic. After the romantic sequences are over, the guy is shopping at a store. He picks an axe deodorant from the shelf and sprays on his body.  He has lost several opportunities of meeting his love through ages. He is an American who has seen wars, been a cowboy and followed his love everywhere only to lose her every time. Once he sprays himself with Axe, the same girl appears behind him and places her hands upon his shoulder. The two move out of the store when a truck knocks against the petrol pump outside setting it on fire. Throughout the ad, a song plays :

One is the loneliest number dat you’ll ever do
Two can be bad as one
It’s the loneliest number since the number one.

Axe advertisement lyrics.

A heart touching song adds to the emotional appeal in the advertisement. The ethical appeal in the ad comes from the brand name and reflections of the Western culture. Scenes like the Titanic and the war movies add to the emotional appeal by relating the ad with the Western culture. The advertisement shows love, passion and excitement. All of these emotions are connected with youth. Logos or logical appeal in the advertisement comes from the product’s use in daily life. It shows that the deodorant is made for the youth and fits in modern lifestyle. It can raise men’s confidence level by a masculine smell. The masculine scent makes young men feel confident. It helps them feel charming and attractive.

The ad tries to set the product away from competing products. It relates the product with the romance of the youth. This ad is not too steamy. It uses sex appeal to just the right degree. This level of steaminess in most cultures is not considered offensive. The ad is most suited to Western culture and a Western audience. It draws its events and characters mainly from the Western history. The theme song is a little sad but romantic. It is a melody that fits well with action movie like scenes of the advertisement. Advertisements are not meant only to draw attention. They are also meant to inform and influence. This ad does not have an informational appeal. It does not try to inform. Axe is already a popular brand and that Unilever’s brand name adds ethical appeal to the advertisement. However, it does try to influence by showing how much Axe adds to a man’s physical charm. Axe has made some of the most interesting ads and most of them have a short movie like plot.  Marketers spend a lot on these ads for their critical role in marketing and branding. These ads do not just attract sales but also churn demand and drive sales. They give the brand an image that customers can connect with. Axe tries to create the image of a ‘sexy’ brand that the young consumers and new generations can easily connect with. This connection grows stronger through advertisements. With their movie like format these ads leave the audience spellbound.