The Axe Effect In Advertising

The Axe Effect

Throughout history, advertisements have been used to market and promote companies products and services. There are many types of advertisements tactics, which are referred to as propaganda. “Propaganda tries to convince people of something. It is not a single technique but a combination of persuasive techniques. The idea or feeling spread by propaganda may be true, partially true, or not true at all. The purpose of the propaganda is to persuade people to believe regardless of whether or not the idea is true.”(Advertising and Critical Thinking, module 8 page 30). While doing research The Axe company’s advertisements stood out to me the most. Axe began advertising their products in 1983. In majority of the Axe advertisements,

The Axe advertisements use an emotional appeal to influence and convince young men that they need to use axe products to attract beautiful women.

In 1998, advertising Agency: BBH London created a series of advertisements for Lynx Deodorant such as Gingerbread Man, Jack and Ivor the Engine. All of the advertisements for the Lynx Deodorant have slogans that reference sexual acts to persuade young men to believe that they can receive the same reaction from women if they wear Lynx Deodorant. The gingerbread man advertisement slogan is “Stop! Stop! I want to gobble you up. she shouted.” With the “The Lynx Effect” in bold letter in the right corner. The advertisement shows an older woman chasing a gingerbread man as he runs away with a smile on his face. Base off the advertisement it is suggesting that by using the Lynx deodorant you will literally have women chasing after you because you smell amazing. This statement is considered to be a faulty conclusion because we all know that women chasing after men is not a realistic reaction. The fact of the matter is that if you use the lynx deodorant you may smell good to some women and not others.

Axe created two print advertisements to promote their new Axe Deodorant. The first advertisement shows a young woman in a bikini with a steering wheel imprint on her back. The second advisement shows a woman with her back turned zipping up her dress with a hanger imprinted on her back. The purpose and tone of both advertisements is to persuade young men while having a marketing tone. The marketing tone can be inferred through the picture of the imprints on the women’s back. The picture is attempting to convince men that they can expect those result if they use the Axe deodorant. Many young men fall victim to the obstacle to critical thinking of Conformism after viewing the advertisements due to the desire to fit in and be wanted by attractive women. Conformism is a “result from the desire to be a part of something outside yourself. It is the tendency to follow the crowd or to try and fit in with them by any means necessary.” (Components of Critical Thinking, module 2 page 10). Axe creates conformism obstacles by emphasizing that by using the Axe deodorant young men can fit in and be wanted by attractive