Axe ad banned for offending Christians

[Mr. Laser Beam]

What about Axe *soap*? I did used to use that stuff. I decided I liked bar soap better though.

 

[C. Cole-Chakotay]

I watched it via the link and didn't care much for it. Angels are really being overdone right now in the media.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Women don't even like axe in real life!

Women don't even like axe in real life!

I have found this to be true. Most women I've met think Axe smells like ass.

i think Axe ads should come with warning labels like cigarettes.

Warning: Axe does not prevent the many STD's you'll get from skanks who want to immediately have sex with you just because you're wearing a body spray

Or all the crack whores.

And as a Christian, no I'm not offended by it, Really did god not give us a sense of humor?
get a life you fucking morons who have nothing better to do than bitch about some shitty product.

 

[scotpens]

It wasn't until I met an acquaintance's teenage sons that I got a good whiff of Axe for the first time. Their Mom explained how they were at the age where they didn't like to bathe and refused to shower, so they just kept spraying clouds of this crap at their unwashed bodies- even doing this while they were sitting watching TV.

What age is that? If all boys go through a "normal" phase when they don't like to keep themselves clean, well, I must be abnormal then. I've always hated being dirty and smelly.

And every fragrance for men that I've smelled, whether in cologne, after-shave, or body spray, smells vile to me. But then, I don't know what smells appeal to women -- or gay men, for that matter.

 

[The Wormhole]

Wasn't this Axe ad on TV like a year ago? I could have sworn I saw it around long enough that it just got pulled naturally as all commercials eventually do. So why is this causing such a shit storm now as opposed to last year?

Personally, I have no real opinion on the ad itself. Yeah, it's kind of stupid, but so's practically every commercial on TV. I've learned to deal with it and move on.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I was going to say I thought the Angels in the Christian faith were male, its possible I have that wrong however.

Depends. Many interpret them to be sexless and androgynous. Some Biblical angels are described as strange creatures: some descriptions of Ophanim resemble interlocking wheels covered in eyes, some descriptions of Seraphim say they're serpentine, etc. Our modern image of angels owes more to Renaissance art and popular culture than Biblical canon.

I don't think the Bible particularly described them this way, but they referenced established beings from Babylonian mythology that did look like this.

I don't think the people of Sodom and Gomorrah would have been as interested in raping interlocking wheels covered in eyes.

 

[bigdaddy]

If we banned everything Christains hated there would be nothing left on TV.

 

[Cyke101]

Yes, Axe smells horrible, and only the desperate tend to buy it (apparently there are a lot of desperate guys out there for Axe to be a popular brand). With that said, LOL at the Blind Man seeing the Angels fall.

 

[Amaris]

If we banned everything Christains hated there would be nothing left on TV.

There would be "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood", and you can't tell me Mr. Rogers doesn't totally kick ass.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I'm more offended that the setting seems to be some kind of early 50s' idea about Italian towns, with dilapidated buildings, old cars, scooters, loud women and old guys in sleeveless shirts.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Yes, Axe smells horrible, and only the desperate tend to buy it (apparently there are a lot of desperate guys out there for Axe to be a popular brand).

That's the point The Atlantic article I linked to yesterday makes. Because they were marketing the product toward desperate young men, the product became known exclusively as a product for desperate young men:

[The] brand's early success soon began to backfire. The problem was, the ads had worked too well in persuading the Insecure Novices and Enthusiastic Novices to buy the product. Geeks and dorks everywhere were now buying Axe by the caseload, and it was hurting the brand's image. Eventually (in the United States, at least), to most high-school and college-age males, Axe had essentially become the brand for pathetic losers and, not surprisingly, sales took a huge hit.

Then Axe faced another big problem. Insecure high-school students had been so convincingly persuaded that Axe would make them sexually appealing that they began completely dousing themselves in it. According to CBC News, "Some boys have been dousing themselves in Axe, apparently believing commercials that show a young man applying the deodorant and being immediately hit on by beautiful women." It got to the point where the students were reeking so heavily of it that it was becoming a distraction at school. So much so that in Minnesota, school-district officials attempted to ban it, claiming that "the man spray has been abused, and the aerosol stench is a hazard for students and faculty."

 

[Kelso]

AXE is handy to have around when I'm working outside in the summer and don't want to smell like sweat when entering a customer's home. Or if I've been smoking. And women usually comment that they like the smell, so that's a plus.

But it shouldn't be used in place of deodorant, cologne, or general cleanliness.

 

[JarodRussell]

I think this ad is hilarious.

Yes, Axe smells horrible, and only the desperate tend to buy it (apparently there are a lot of desperate guys out there for Axe to be a popular brand).

That's the point The Atlantic article I linked to yesterday makes. Because they were marketing the product toward desperate young men, the product became known exclusively as a product for desperate young men:

[The] brand's early success soon began to backfire. The problem was, the ads had worked too well in persuading the Insecure Novices and Enthusiastic Novices to buy the product. Geeks and dorks everywhere were now buying Axe by the caseload, and it was hurting the brand's image. Eventually (in the United States, at least), to most high-school and college-age males, Axe had essentially become the brand for pathetic losers and, not surprisingly, sales took a huge hit.

Then Axe faced another big problem. Insecure high-school students had been so convincingly persuaded that Axe would make them sexually appealing that they began completely dousing themselves in it. According to CBC News, "Some boys have been dousing themselves in Axe, apparently believing commercials that show a young man applying the deodorant and being immediately hit on by beautiful women." It got to the point where the students were reeking so heavily of it that it was becoming a distraction at school. So much so that in Minnesota, school-district officials attempted to ban it, claiming that "the man spray has been abused, and the aerosol stench is a hazard for students and faculty."

Sounds like they are blaming marketing department for people being stupid.

I find all Axe ads stupid, sexist, and annoying. And the one with the falling angels was just lame, an overly labored metaphor that carried the whole disgusting "You too can compel women to lose all inhibition and dignity and become your groveling sex slaves" campaign to a reductio ad absurdem level. Religious implications are the least of its problems.

Have you actually ever seen what happens to a woman when you smell great?

 

[Forbin]

The ad is brilliant.
Some Christians need to get a fucking grip.

 

[Christopher]

Wasn't this Axe ad on TV like a year ago? I could have sworn I saw it around long enough that it just got pulled naturally as all commercials eventually do. So why is this causing such a shit storm now as opposed to last year?

It was on American TV a year ago. The controversy and ban were in South Africa. Maybe it didn't start showing in that country until more recently.

That's the point The Atlantic article I linked to yesterday makes. Because they were marketing the product toward desperate young men, the product became known exclusively as a product for desperate young men:

[The] brand's early success soon began to backfire. The problem was, the ads had worked too well in persuading the Insecure Novices and Enthusiastic Novices to buy the product. Geeks and dorks everywhere were now buying Axe by the caseload, and it was hurting the brand's image. Eventually (in the United States, at least), to most high-school and college-age males, Axe had essentially become the brand for pathetic losers and, not surprisingly, sales took a huge hit.

Oh, that's sad, that people would actually believe the extravagant claims of an ad campaign. We need to do a better job teaching our children to watch TV critically.

But it just underlines the problem with the concept behind the Axe campaign. It caters to a very juvenile male fantasy of having the power to enslave women sexually, to deprive them of any agency or choice, even to make them degrade themselves for the man's pleasure. It's a selfish, immature power fantasy, and one particularly appealing to insecure males who have no luck with women and feel they could do better if they could take women's power to choose out of the equation.

 

[wamdue]

But it just underlines the problem with the concept behind the Axe campaign. It caters to a very juvenile male fantasy of having the power to enslave women sexually, to deprive them of any agency or choice, even to make them degrade themselves for the man's pleasure. It's a selfish, immature power fantasy, and one particularly appealing to insecure males who have no luck with women and feel they could do better if they could take women's power to choose out of the equation.

TBH I think some people may be over thinking the effect a Lynx/Axe advert has on a teenager, I dont think teenagers actually thik women will become their willing sex slaves if they use it

Besides even if for a moment they think that, they will learn a valuable message, advertisers lie, and products wont make you attractive to women, no matter what the advert claims.

 

[Christopher]

TBH I think some people may be over thinking the effect a Lynx/Axe advert has on a teenager, I dont think teenagers actually thik women will become their willing sex slaves if they use it

The point is not that they would take the claim literally, the point is that the ad campaign caters to and encourages the type of mindset that finds that fantasy of sexual domination appealing. It's promoting misogyny and disregard for women's feelings in impressionable teens who should be learning respect for the opposite sex.

 

[JarodRussell]

Axe ads make men beat their wifes!

 

[wamdue]

TBH I think some people may be over thinking the effect a Lynx/Axe advert has on a teenager, I dont think teenagers actually thik women will become their willing sex slaves if they use it

The point is not that they would take the claim literally, the point is that the ad campaign caters to and encourages the type of mindset that finds that fantasy of sexual domination appealing. It's promoting misogyny and disregard for women's feelings in impressionable teens who should be learning respect for the opposite sex.

I think you can both have respect, and not have your dream of women coming on to you, totally destroyed.

 

[Christopher]

^Coming on to you, sure. But being totally deprived of the ability to resist you? That's a fundamentally different fantasy. In the former, the women have agency and choice. In the latter, they're deprived of it. That's the crucial distinction.