A Letter Addressing The Axe Underwear Commercial

Advertising not only speaks to consumers in a language of desire and need but also sets up people’s perceptions of how things are or should be. In the past decade or so, advertising agencies have become less responsible to consumers by portraying unattainable perfection. As the representatives of a product that has become infiltrated into the lives of our youth, your company must rethink the ad campaign for Axe Underwear. The current ad goes beyond the boundaries of acceptable and moral advertising, by portraying women as sex driven objects, illustrating the male “loser,” and is overall a sexually pervasive ad.
This commercial for Axe underwear made me question how unrealistic gender roles and sexually explicit content could be taken this far in order to increase the financial growth of an already successful company. This commercial is harmfully appealing to its viewers because it deals with what is known as the “Gaze”; which is the relationship between the person looking and the person being looked at. This commercial reveals this “gaze” towards both the male and female characters of the commercial. First, the male is looked upon as a conquest for the female, who is turning circles around him and examining every inch of his body. However, since he is “confronting the gaze” with an “authoritarian pose,” he is not seen as being objectified. When people compare this commercial to other commercials with reverse roles, it is easy to see that the gaze of a man objectifies the women. Although the commercial has reversed the roles of the gaze, it still attempts “to sell products through traditional gender codes, by portraying [the woman] in demure, seductive poses for a possessive male gaze” (90). It is true that the woman is doing the looking, however the effect of the gaze is caused by how the male responds to the gaze. He remains confident, masculine and authoritarian, and still grasps control of the power. Therefore the woman, despite her attempts, is the one who is left powerless to the gaze.
The message that ads send to the youth about gender roles is an important component that often times is disregarded. Some might say that this commercial is representing the woman as the one who is powerful and in control, however this is not the case. “[F]eminism is taken into account, but only to be shown that it is no longer necessary, because there is no exploitation here, there is nothing remotely naïve … but it is for her own enjoyment” (McRobbie, 8). This post-feminist view directly applies to the Axe Underwear commercial. People often think that if a commercial is illustrating a woman in a sexually explicit way that it is not being sexist but is illustrating her freedom of choice. Instead, this depiction of so called “freedom of choice” leads most people to assume that women often times ask for “it.” This leads women to believe that they should constantly be sexual and fierce, and consequently leads men to think that all women are always driven by sex. As McRobbie stated, women are entitled to “female pleasure” but do not go around hunting down men, which is often the portrayal of women in Axe advertisements.
Lastly, I believe that this commercial also plays on male insecurities and illustrates what Messner refers to as the “male loser.” Most other underwear commercials focus on the selection of a specific brand in order to increase the size of a man’s most important asset (or so they are told). I understand how the Axe underwear commercial is mocking all other commercials of its genre, by illustrating an illusion of size. However, if this commercial is to play a role in the effect of advertising on society, our male population is in trouble.
At first the “male loser” is portrayed as a confident, authoritative figure whose body is being grazed from his chest to his underwear. However, as her hand goes down beyond the view of the camera, his “loser”-ness becomes apparent. Messner’s “male loser” refers to men who “are publicly being humiliated, either by their own stupidity, by other men or worse, by a beautiful woman” (1887). This specific commercial deals with the worst-case scenario for the “male loser” – being humiliated by this “sexualized fantasy object” (Messner, 1887). The male character in the commercial at first seems confident and sexy. However, as the woman’s hand reaches down, a clip is shown of his underwear being pulled on by the female, to create an illusion of an extremely large erect penis. Up until this point the male figure is portrayed in a dominant, exaggerated way, however what happens afterwards is crucial to the influence of this ad. The underwear is let go of and the “extremely large penis” doesn’t look so large anymore, and the male is left with a look of embarrassment. This scene from the ad emphasizes that these women “sometimes serve to validate men’s masculinity,” but also that “if men get to close, these women will most likely humiliate them” (Messner, 1906). Up until the point that the woman lets go of the underwear she is pulling, his masculinity is being validated. However ironically, as she lets go, his masculinity along with the size of his penis diminishes – he becomes the “male loser”. The female’s shocked reaction to how small his penis is, also adds to the “loser-”ness of the male.
This commercial, along with similar messages in our media lead men to think that if they don’t meet the standards of perfection, then they become a “loser.” Through repeated depictions of male perfection, or the obvious lack thereof, men either realize they can never reach true perfection and begin to settle for less or never realize it and constantly strive to perfect their flaws. Consequently, it creates characteristics of insecurity and unhappiness in men.
It is ultimately the responsibility of large corporate companies such as yourself, to undo this new trend of the promotion of idealized perfection. The Axe underwear commercial is unacceptable and gives our youth unrealistic perceptions of aesthetics, behaviors and an overall idealized lifestyle. I urge you to not only take this commercial off television, but to also consider formulating a new ad campaign for all Axe products.

Annotations

1. Mary C Martin and Cara Okleshen Peters, “Exploring adolescent girls' identification of beauty types through consumer collages,” Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management 9, no. 4 (2005): 391, http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.usc.edu/pqdweb?did=930054891&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientId=4676&RQT=309&VName=PQD (accessed February 20, 2007).


In the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Mary Martin and Cara Okleshen Peters wrote and article titled, “Exploring adolescent girls’ identification of Beauty Types Through Consumer Collages.” This 2005 article, engages in a conversation about the impact commercial and popular culture has on their perceptions of valued beauty. The article begins by giving an overall analysis of advertising’s impact on females and the pressures that come along with it. They referece a number of studies dealing with this objective. For example in Posavac et al. women voiced high weight concerns when exposed to media as opposed to neutral images. Then the article outlines the “multidementional” aspect of beauty. Finally the study’s methodology is revealed. The case included females ages seven to thirteen from local or regional organizatons. These participants were give fourty seven photos of models and were asked to sort them out based on similarity. Then they were asked to select the picture they thought would represent their grown up self. The one they thought least represented them. Lastly the girls were asked to create a collage of each model and the way they would live, their style… etc. to do this they were supplied with a list of items. What they found were multiple distinctions between the “pretty” and the “ugly.” They also proved that “socially desirable traits” increased the likeability of the model. Lastly they concluded that today’s youth is more “mature, media-savvy, and culturally experienced than past generations.” This study revealed what girls considered to be beautiful and ugly and were able to differenciate between both categorical lifestyles.

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1. Joyce Y Karpay, “Critical Condition: Feminism at the Turn of the Century / Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girls Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising,” NWSA Journal 13, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 189, http://proquest.umi.com.libproxy.usc.edu/pqdweb?did=71500707&sid=6&Fmt=3&clientId=4676&RQT=309&VName=PQD (accessed February 20, 2007).


"Critical Condition: Feminism and the Turn of the Century/ Deadly Persuasion: Why Women and Girl Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising," written in 2001 by Joyce Karpay was featured in the NWSA Journal. The article reviews the two books referenced in the title to illustrate the harsh truth about advertising's influence on society, specifically girls. The author outlines each book by summarizing some important points and interesting quotes. She informs her readers that one simply attacks the tobacco, food and alcohol industry, where as the other talks about the history of advertising's influence and applies complex theories to her analysis. The first book, written by Susan Gubar analyzes how women from different places, ethnicities or races have different experiences as a woman. Each one deals with different issues and comes to understand her role as a female as something completely different. According to Karapy, she also references her own Jewish Heritage and speaks of her struggles of coming o terms with the male authority. The second book however takes on a different approach. Kilbourne, targets the food, tobacco and alcohol indurtries and reveals how they have created what she refers to as the “toxic culture.” She suggests that these companies unintentionally target children, appeal to them and cause them to consume their products. For example, she backs up that information by saying that 90% of smokers start smoking before the age of 18. she concludes by saying that both books will “prove powerful resources for those teaching feminist issues,” because they are informative in that respect.

Evaluation of CR Blog

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So, there. Go ahead. Click on all my links, resources and even the pictures you see. Take advatage of this tool that we have been so fortunate in having.

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