Brands and Objectification - The Axe Campaign

Axe, known also as Lynx in the United Kingdom and Ireland due to trademark problems that the company had regarding the name’s use, represents a brand owned by the Unilever company that was launched in 1983 in France and sales male grooming products such as shower gels, hair styling products, aftershaves, roll-ons and antiperspirants, the main and best-known product being the deodorant body-spray that produces what is called the “Axe effect”. This effect consists in the fact that it instantly seduces women, making the subject that uses the deodorant irresistibly attractive. My aim is to analyze the Axe campaign from the point of view of its objectification of women and empowerment of men by emphasizing issues regarding the precedence that the brand concept takes.

Investigating the name of the brand, an “axe” can be defined as “a tool used for chopping wood, typically of iron with a steel edge and wooden handle” (Oxford Dictionary). An axe is an instrument that endows its user with power as it is a strong tool that can also be used as a weapon. Referring either to the “Even Angels will Fall” TV commercial meant to support the Axe Excite campaign, either to the “Women-Billions” ad, we are presented a normal man who does nothing more in order to attract women than spray himself with the Axe deodorant. And it seems to work as an aphrodisiac since the women swim oceans, climb mountains, run like crazy long distances through woods and accidental terrain wearing minuscule bikinis like in the case of the “Women-Billions” campaign that bears the message “Spray more, get more” or they fall from the sky wearing only their wings and skin-color lingerie and give up divinity due to the fact that they are unable to resist the male that uses the spray. Thus, it can be considered that it works as a weapon, as an erotic “axe” that helps men seduce women, giving the user power and self-confidence. John Hegarty considers that “at the core of the existence of brands is trust”, stating:

As a consumer society grew and became more and more wealthy, people were no longer buying goods from their neighbors or their local community – the people they could trust – but were forced to buy from strangers instead. How could people trust those strangers and their goods? How could they know what the strangers were selling was safe, efficient and reliable? From that core issue of <<trust>> grew the development of the brand”. (42)

Taking this statement into consideration, Axe clearly represents one of the brands that seek to obtain the consumer’s trust. As the women are inexplicably attracted to the sprayed man, it functions almost as a virus that never fails to reach its target. It takes the form of involuntary, irresistible seduction and this is the reason why Axe becomes more than a deodorant. Males who buy the product spray themselves with confidence, they begin to trust themselves, they are provided with a sure, efficient weapon that helps them become desirable to the opposite sex, making them suddenly more attractive. Moreover, Hegarty believes that “a brand isn’t only made by the people who buy it, but also by the people who know about it”, arguing that “even though a person may never buy what you sell, the fact that they know about what you are selling adds value to it” (43). Neither the billions of women that have fallen under the spell of the “Axe effect”, nor the angels that have fallen from the heavens probably never bought the deodorant, but the smell is certainly familiar to them since it seems to attract them unconditionally. Thus, the male associating himself with the brand and the effect it produces, becomes a central figure full of power and begins to trust himself, since all women already know the force of the deodorant and submit themselves to it. Hegarty believes that:

“The issue with brands today is not about weather <<it>>, the product I’ve just bought works – I expect <<it>> to work – but what <<it>> sais about me. <<It>> becomes a fashion statement. Brands should now be viewed through a prism of style and substance”. (51)