Isis

Axe the Effect

Sex sells. Or so the Axe Effect advertisements have proved. Drawing their ‘target group’ of 18 to 24 year olds in with advertisements filled with sexual innuendos, these advertisements assure seduction. Axe has become the top selling male deodorant body spray probably because the advertisements stimulate the desired response. The response merely being the purchasing power of the consumer. But at what cost? Rather, at whose cost?

Here is the latest revelation – a postcard that one can find in the Cards4U section, placed in almost all coffee shops in the city. These cards are not for sale and are available free. An offence of sorts for some. A sizzler for many.

The postcard

[Front]

Visual: Bust shot of a girl smiling – the ‘naughty’ librarian. She has been tagged with the label – ‘MOLESTED’ written in bright red across her chest.

A bold disclaimer that states: Any information regarding this matter contact www.axeeffect.com.

[Back]

HUNDREDS OF MEN with a feather duster, a library stamp and a pot of honey. Considered HOT and DANGEROUS. If you SEE this DIRTY LIBRARIAN call the AUTHORITIES IMMEDIATELY.

‘Reward’ offered for the information leading to the arrest and conviction of this good girl turned naughty and the girl crime wave sweeping the city. Axe users are cautioned to approach suspects with extreme care.

The key words are in bold. Read them aloud and think for yourself. Another one in the series reads:

[Front]

Visual: A bust shot of a schoolgirl in two braids with a stamp “ABDUCTED” against her chest. The same disclaimer follows.

[Back]

Schoolgirl ABDUCTED three men covered them in whipped cream and spanked them silly in the locker room. Still at large, Victims are breathless, but otherwise unharmed.

For those who aren’t tickled yet – check out www.axefeather.com.

According to the Oxford dictionary, to Molest means to meddle hostilely or injuriously with a person. It originates from the word molestus, which means troublesome. The usage of the word in context of the advertisement, backed by the visual and the base line is obviously suggestive and ensures that the reader is thinking on the same track.

This is not the first such ad. People who wear Axe are shown being attacked by multiple women. In mid-2004, an advertisement featured two frogs engaging in sexual intercourse. The ad also featured a man and a woman about to engage in the same. This advertisement has been revoked. In early 2006, Axe began marketing a body wash via a fictitious cult that helps men cleanse their bodies and conscience from questionable casual sexual encounters. Axe Snake Peel is described as the “Sanctioned shower scrub of The Order of The Serpentine”. One of the slogans for this campaign is “How Dirty Boys Get Clean.” Another ad shows an empty shower with a sign that reads, “Occupancy by more than five persons is dangerous and unlawful.” Another of Axe’s tag lines reads: “It can happen anywhere. The Axe Effect.” The visuals that accompany this consist of a woman’s bare back imprinted with the shape of a hanger or an elevator key pad or a steering wheel or anything else she might have been smashed up against during spontaneous snuggling, canoodling or going-all-the-way.

Sex surely sells at this rate. With so many ‘successful’ campaigns, Axe surely has hit the nail on the head. On another level, what does it have to do with the deodorant? This type of sexualized advertising fuels lustful fantasies among young men and almost sounds like it promotes deviant sexual behavior. By instructing men to regard women’s bodies as objects, these ubiquitous images help create an atmosphere that devalues women as people, reinforce stereotypes of women as objects of sexual gratification, encourage sexual harassment, and worse. These commercials promote social sculpting through the degradation of women. The Axe marketing honchos tell the media it is all tongue-in-cheek, not serious, girls are in the joke, etc. We all know that is not true. If it were, it would indicate the birth of a depraved society that can find such a blatant insult to womanhood a laughing matter. That in itself is a cause for concern.

Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code authorizes a punishment of simple imprisonment for a term that may extend to one year, or with fine, or both, for anyone uttering a word, or performing a gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. The Axe ads quite explicitly do both. Yet, no action has been taken. Instead, these ads have come in for public acclaim world over, and have been termed adventurous and unconventional.

The laws are written. They are merely just waiting to be implemented. It really is about the society being the hammer or the nail.

[Written with Ekta, without whose infectious enthusiasm, this campaign would never have taken off]