The Axe Calendar

Mmmmkay. Old GenX alert. I'm old enough to have a daughter in college.

Firstly, any guy who uses all-body perfume has issues, okay? Guys don't need to smell like sweat. But at least you are being a man. Its bizarre that a straight man would spray perfume all over himself. There is nothing "macho" about this at all - its a bit ironic, actually.

And secondly, if my daughter was living in one of these dormrooms I would totally blow a gasket. How many men are out there paying good money to have their daughters objectified like this? What the hell is the matter with people?

Take a chill pill, Mr. Jones. My daughter is in college and I don't see a problem with that ad. I think it's cute.

But, I also think, that to be equal, they should put one on the guys' dorm, too. (lol)

@Sydneyclaire

I could see that happening, but ofcourse the men seen through the windows would be doing cooking, cleaning and other house work. What do they call that again, porn for women?

Think what you want, it is still clever marketing. :)

SydneyClaire:

You would think its "cute" that your daughter is relegated as a simple "day-of-the-month" sexual conquest?

College boys fantasize about having a different sexual partner for every day of the month. That's perfectly normal. But why the hell would we, as adults, encourage it? And why would we offer our daughters as props to this fantasy?

And I seriously wonder where this corporate money is going (I'm assuming this is a public college). I bet you anything this isn't lowering the tuition. The fathers who are allowing this are getting the pipe.

A *little* bit sexist? Wow. Way to praise marketing that sets us back 50 years. Really lame.

It really is amazingly stupid and wrong. If this was just a Photoshop job it's just an awful concept for an ad, but if they really put this up for an entire month and the women didn't have any say in it, that's... kind of evil. Why not just make every girl in the dorm wear a shirt that says YOUR NEXT ONE-NIGHT STAND for a month? It's the same message.

Understand, I'm not super-feminist. At all. I'm not the type to rant about the "patriarchy." But this thing is sleazy and insulting.

Ursula:

Thank you - you make some great points.

I would argue that it is the deconstrution of the "patriarchy" that is allowing this kind of nonsense. I don't think modern fathers have any clue whatsoever in defending their daughters' virtue.

And please understand me - I'm not living in 1880. I've been to college and yes, sex is happening left and right. But a man should never lay down and let his daughter be disrespected. If a boy ever disrespected my daughter in my presence, they are going to be cleaning him off that side of the building.

Good grief, Mr. Jones, you react as though they're handing out roofies and advertising these women as potential rape victims. Show a little faith in your daughter's ability to look after herself.

First, Axe and that sort of stuff is an idiotic waste of money. A bar of carbolic cleans better, and smells better. I thought metrosexuality was dead? I imagine that Axe appeals to guys who are unsure of their sexuality, but want to smell pretty, and are hoping that by using Axe they can somehow both wash the gayness away and yet somehow secretly delight in it.

Second, sure there are wanton dorm women, but most aren't. Ads like this reinforce the stereotype of the dorm slut.

A "little bit" sexist? Looks like plain old sexism to me.
--ek

I am sorry to be dense, but would explain (with a minimum of vitriol, please) why this is sexist?

Axe ad: Massive FAIL. Oh, it fails so hard. So very, very hard. I *am* one of those patriarchy-blaming, hairy-legged feminazis, but I wasn't before I saw this ad.

Now I think I'll go take a whiff of the stuff at the store so I can recognize it, and verbally smackdown the next man who approaches me wearing it.

MM:

College is awash in hormones. Trust me. I know it.

But there are other things that drive relationships besides sex. Horn-dog kids aren't going to understand, but we have to keep trying to teach them.

And this stupid ad completely goes against this notion. Instead of telling kids that women mean more than a simple wham-bam-thank you Ma'm, we are instead saying "Hey, girls are here for you to screw - in fact, the more you "bag", the more of A MAN you are! Oh, and buy AX Body Spray!"

There may be idiotic adults who think that we are being "hip" and "edgy" by endorsing this behavior to today's generation. But all we're doing is enslaving them to cheap sex. And that will make it that much harder for them to grow up.

Don't mean to fillabuster this thread - but Felix, that was beautiful man. Beautiful.

You're all familiar with the Axe branding, right? The message is: Spray this funk all over your body, and women will fall all over themselves to have sex with you. Why is anyone surprised by this gimmick?

This is an utter FAIL. Alex! I thought you had better discriminating taste than to waste space on this type of crap :(
If it were my money paying for the privilege of peering out one of those windows/living in that dorm (very 'spensive these days, btw!)whether for myself or my kid, I'd be pissed. Very. It's not "cute", or "edgy" it's lazy, sloppy, lowest-common-denominator sexist advertising at its worst.

Why do people keep calling college students "kids?" They are adults who can vote. They may not always act that way but much of world history was made by people in that age-group. Accept that they have choices and while they don't always make the best ones, they are still adults who can choose for themselves.

This reminds me of the time in college, I looked up and saw some girl mooning the boys in the dorm across the way. The majority of what goes on in college in consensual. Get over it.

I don`t condone it, but it is a clever ad.

Looks like some folks are scrubbing with vitriol to get clean here. One ad cannot set society back 50 years. You know who set society back 50 years? Monica Lewinsky.

@ted

I totally agree with you. Too many people are crying over spilt milk... or in Monica Lewinsky's case, something that looks like spilt milk. People who grow up without acting out in some way grow up repressed, and then have issues later in life that are mostly not for the best. Axe tries to tap into the mindset of the young male, and they aren’t influencing people any more then what they hear from their friends or conclusions them come to themselves without outside influence.

Does everyone remember those Mentos commercials that were so stupid? They intended them to be stupid because they saw the reaction they got from people that were complaining they were so stupid, so they made more. This advertisement is there to either make you laugh or tick you off, either way people are still talking about it. Negative publicity is still publicity.

Whatever. The only "men" who wear Axe are 14 year old boys.

That is kinda weird when you think of it. It's an advertisment for Axe in South Africa, developed by an ad company in South Korea. Weird.

Justin said
"Think what you want, it is still clever marketing."

The marketing would have to be clever to actually sell this man perfume that stinks you up like a chemical cleaning closet.

It's hardly clever, though. Axe has been advertising sex for as long as I can remember. I'm as laid back as anyone, but the way Axe commercials objectify women with a can of aerosol spray as a modern day love potion gets under my skin after years of repetition.

Seeing these commercials only further reminds me that there are people buying into this shit, and that's more depressing than the prospect of transforming a girls dorm into a perceived harem for guys who smell like scratch 'n sniff flowers.

My daughter is 14 and on the first day of school complained of the intense stink that engulfs the area around the boy's lockers at school. The smell these days is Axe.

While i do think it's creative, it's a complete invasion of privacy and is of course sexist. This is these women's home, and therefore not a place for advertising in the first place, let alone something like this. Of course, if every single one of them agreed to it, i suppose it would be okay, but i can't imagine that happening.

Their still selling products no matter who they offend. This is the reaction they want.

Sick and stupid - it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to sell this junk to college "kids" who really believe it will work. The college "students" not so much.

Sex sells, especially to horny college "kids." So, yeah, they keep selling, but it still offends me in the same way that that divorce lawyer ad with half-naked sexy people ("Think of who else you could be doing right now." or something like that) offended me.

Yes, they'll keep making it - but... it does contribute, no matter how little, to a degrading culture. Its the sort of thing I could laugh at, sure, but it still feels like something withered up and died inside my stomach.

I think if I lived in that dorm I would put up a big "F YOU" sign in my window for the month that ad was up. It's a funny concept and would be one thing done in PhotoShop for a print or web ad. But to physically have that around my dorm window for a month? Gross. I presume these women had no say in whether they were going to be part of a campaign like this.

How can marketing 'set you back'? This is the single most thoughtless assertion I've ever heard. In fact, how can the actions of another set anyone back? Are we not individuals? Feminists need to stop their assault on critical thinking.

mutterhals:

I think we may get into a chicken and egg conundrum (sp?). I think marketing is purely reactive - it reacts off the prevailing cultural perception (whether or not it is true). But mass-marketing could also perpetuate a perception. If something is repeated enough then kids might actually think it is true.

I don't see anything positive about this, even if its just to make a buck (which I don't besmirch to anyone). There is enough sexual pressure happening on college campuses by the kids themselves - we don't need to be adding to it by stupid and cynical advertising.

Individuals are just as suspicious of corporations as they are of government.

And mutterhals (as an individual) should not essentialize feminists into a distinct group and recognize that not all INDIVIDUAL feminists "assault critical thinking."

I'm having a hard time believing this was ever actually put up on a building. All the pictures I could find are of exactly the same image contained by ad copy or not. And for the money, why bother?

@Gauldar

Where'd you get South Africa?

Mr. Jones: "There may be idiotic adults who think that we are being 'hip' and 'edgy' by endorsing this behavior to today’s generation. But all we’re doing is enslaving them to cheap sex."

"Enslaving"? What? You have got to be either kidding or succumbing to blind paranoia.

The ad does not control what people think or do. It cannot "enslave" anyone. It relies upon a false stereotype in order to make a cheap joke and get attention. It does not reflect reality, any more than a joke implying that blondes are dumb or Southerners are racist reflects reality.

More to the point, the college students who see this ad KNOW that it doesn't reflect reality. Seriously, give them a little credit. It's a stupid ad, but it doesn't "enslave" anyone. The boys will laugh at it, but it's not going to make anyone go on a date-rape spree.

Advertising works by preying on insecurity. It can do this by creating insecurity and then offering to assuage it, or by promising to get rid of an insecurity that's already in place. And college-aged man-boys are RIFE with sexual insecurity; the ad people who came up with this are well aware of that.

As for this: "College is awash in hormones. Trust me. I know it."

Thanks for the condescension. I have three university degrees; I am well aware that college is awash in hormones.

I still can't believe you actually used the word "enslave" in this context.

seefish3, your probably right. A quick photoshop job + a write up about how it's real, times the number of bloggers who will repost = more bang for your buck than you could ever get by actually hiring an artist to make the real thing. Still yet, a very smart way to advertise (and in this case, maybe even free).

How about I object to it on the basis that I don't want to be an advertisement for some dumb-ass, stinky body spray? If girls want to walk around with an advertisement for "Juicy Couture" on their ass, fine, that's their choice... but if I'm gonna be a sell out, I'm going to pick who I sell out to.

Emmers, how is this a complete 'invasion of privacy'?

Do you really think the women are required to keep the curtains open 24/7?

Has anyone noticed that the girls in the windows are all models, and that there are no girls in any windows that don't represent a day of the month? It just seems like some of you are under the impression that actual students are being shown off as one night stand material.

Models are used to being objectified and used to sell sex to 14 year old boys. Its kind of in the job description.

Maybe I'm a sexist asshole, but no real people were harmed in the making of this (mildly funny) ad for a crappy product.

Good catch, Thomas.

'Sure it's a little bit racist, but at least it's creative!'

I can't wait for a post here to be described that way.

College dorms are already full of creeps and date rapists – this is just gross.

'How can marketing ’set you back’? This is the single most thoughtless assertion I’ve ever heard. In fact, how can the actions of another set anyone back? Are we not individuals? Feminists need to stop their assault on critical thinking.'

So you're under the impression that marketing campaigns leave absolutely no impression on the people they target (and others who observe them), especially not teenage boys? Critical thinking indeed.

Well, at least the college kids will know what month it is. Maybe even what day it is!

I wouldn't call it a "little" sexist. I can't appreciate creativity if it's backwards, barbaric, and offensive.

And I think axe smells terrible. I would never date a man who wore it.

if sexism means discrimination based upon gender, then wouldn't disparaging man's genetic proclivity for promiscuity also be a form of sexism?

MM:

"I have three university degrees"

(golf clap)

Hey, you need another one?

(golf clap)

I'll try to explain myself again. With your three degrees maybe you'll be able to figure it out. If not, I can use finger puppets.

Everyone, especially young people, can become enslaved by their emotions and impulses. We become slaves to our desires. The pursuit of desires can overwhelm us - and leave us feeling empty and lost.

Maybe all your young sexual exploits ended up peachy, but mine, and most other people, have not. After many years of thinking about it, I have concluded that my reasons for having sex was quite different than the girls I was with. They were expecting something from me that I wasn't able to give.

And you know what? This is perfectly normal. Young men are wired a certain way - and young girls are wired completely differently. It's always been like this, and always will be.

And we, as adults, are supposed to be wise and compassionate with these young people, and not lie to them. It is lying to them to say that sex is easy and cheap. It is lying to them to say that there are no consequences of having a one-night stand with a girl (who, in this case, could be 17 or 18 years old), and then leave her alone (because if you're banging a different girl every night, you don't have time for pillow talk).

So do you want to keep defending teenage body spray?

To Felix:

"wash the gayness away"

wtf? were you dropped on your head as a child, or are you just ignorant?

And Alex, i'm disappointed! "Sure it’s a little bit sexist, but at least it’s creative!"

What's next? "Sure, it's misogynistic, but at least it's funny!" or "Sure, it's homophobic, but it made me chuckle," or even "Sure, it's racist, but at least I'm not the target, so it's ok."

It's everyone's duty to stand up against sexism - I'm a little confused and disappointed that you would start a post this way. The ad doesn't offend me - it's obviously a photoshopped image, and it *is* a clever idea. I'm offended that the sexism is not only noted, but then it's redeemed and tolerated.

Boo!

@seefish3

Unless I misunderstood and South Africa was were the photo was taken and not where it was advertised.

http://www.coloribus.com/adsarchive/prints/axe-deoderant-schedule-calendar-310222/

Memo to mr. jones: your daughter is not your property. She doesn't need you to "defend her virtue" (wtf?), she needs to be treated like a human being with dignity and autonomy.

And re: felixthecat and "dorm sluts", again wtf? If a woman WANTS to sleep around, she should, and should not be judged for it. If she doesn't, same no big deal. The problem with this ad and the whole women-as-passive-receptacles culture is that the importance of consent (and by consent, I mean 100% enthusiastic actually wanting to do it consent) goes out the window. Women are (or should be) free agents, in control of their own sexuality. And you guys need to step back and accept that.

CassieC:

You illustrate one of my points wonderfully. You say that I don't "own" my daughter, as if she is some piece of property. This is typical leftist feminist strawmen arguments.

It isn't about "owning" a person. It is about "owning" responsibility. Since the deconstruction of the patriarchy, men have given up their traditional responsibilities as providers and protectors.

Granted, men had the tendency to abuse these responsibilities. But the feminist movement (and their male enablers) decided to throw the baby out with the bath water.

And you know what the punch line is? Women are very, very confused now. Since men no longer perform their functions that are readily observed in nature (provide and protect), then women, on a very basic level, can not respect them, and be attracted to them. You feminists have your gelded males now - but you will always have that terrible feeling that something is missing, and something is wrong.

@CassieC

I find your point of view refreshing seen from an individualistic angle. People will fall into narrow minded viewpoints having to label everything into their own group then make generalisations about them, a device of human nature that a lot of people need to break free from. I even hear it from my mom, and I just roll my eyes at it. I don't expect people to change; they have to want to change themselves.

@mr. jones: women don't need men to protect them or provide for them (and while I'm at it, that whole evo psych stuff is just awful science and people need to stop believing pseudo scientific theories that prop up existing power structures. That shit ain't sound). Women need men to stop being whiny condescending assholes. Hint: real men don't whine about being "gelded" (another wtf), real men are happy and relieved to be considered complete and equal humans.

And I'm not confused about that, really, really, really not.

@Gauldar

thanks for your kind words. I really think there is a better future for all of us when we start accepting that everyone has a right to their own wishes and desires and struggles and failures and all that good stuff that comes with living a full adult life. And once we accept that, this culture that sees women as rape receptacles or chattel to be guarded carefully (those are two sides of the same coin) will disappear like the dodo or dinosaurs, but be remembered a lot less fondly. Dinosaurs and dodos were cool.

Sigh.

Mr. Jones: "And we, as adults, are supposed to be wise and compassionate with these young people, and not lie to them. It is lying to them to say that sex is easy and cheap."

On this we totally agree. Here is what we disagree on:

THIS AD DOES NOT TELL THEM THAT SEX IS EASY AND CHEAP. THIS IS ONLY A JOKE, AND COLLEGE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THAT.

I can't make it any clearer than that. You seem to think that college students are stupid enough to believe that a giant calendar showing a different sexual "conquest" for every day of the month is real. I disagree. I give them more credit than that.

They may laugh at it. Heck, if I saw this on a building I'd probably laugh at it too. But laughing at it is not the same as believing that it represents reality.

Geez, guys. If you look at the picture, you'll see that the windows are not real, and the women in the "windows" are just illustrations. It's probably not a real dorm. They're possibly restoring the building underneath that ad. If it's even on a real building.

Any ideas you have about rape or invasion of privacy or "you have less manhood because you smell nice" are just plain silly and inflammatory.

There ya go everyone, this is the reason why your child is horney and out of control.

http://www.canada.com/life/scientist+explains+your+teen+control/1654761/story.html

Great links, Gauldar!

Didn't dig deep enough for the S. Africa thing, I guess. Thanks!

As for the "teen control" one, I've been saying the same thing for years, but most people respond as if I'm some kind of pervert! (And I am, just not THAT kind !)

Hi there. I do use Axe soap and deodorant spray, I am happily married, approaching 40, and not a sexist jerkwad. I like the scent of most of the varieties I've tried. The marketing is silly and sexist, but so is the marketing for Old Spice, Irish Spring, and probably other stuff as well.

@Jones:

"But the feminist movement (and their male enablers) decided to throw the baby out with the bath water.
And you know what the punch line is? Women are very, very confused now."

Hello, do you have ovaries? I do, and I'm fairly certain I'm not confused running my own life without a man to do it for me. Kthx.

MadMolecule, Ted: I love you both. You sound like the calm nougat center in an otherwise crazy discussion. OMG KIDS IS HAVING SECKS!!!1 What else is new?

First of all, college students aren't kids.
Second, they can have sex if they want to.
Third, Axe didn't make them have sex. Chances are, Axe prevented more than it enabled. There's only one Axe that smells halfway decent (Kilo).
Fourth, I know way more guys in monogamous relationships than I do the type to run around and get a new piece of ass every night.
Fifth, if you want to blame things on ads, you've got to get started on just about every ad for Captain Morgan, Budweiser, Trojan, Levis, and just about every product which has ever used sex to sell their products (PROTIP: good luck on that one, scooter).
Sixth, just because something is offensive, does not mean that it cannot be funny. It might not be funny to you, but don't just start declaring comedy fatwas every time you get sand in your vagina. See what I did there? I laughed at that, but most girls probably didn't. Doesn't mean its not funny to me, or anyone else for that matter, it just means I can laugh at something that you can't. I think that means I'm a broader person. You probably disagree. I don't care.
Seventh, what was I talking about again?
Step 8 - ???????
Step 9 - PROFIT!

For the love of god, people : THIS IS NOT REAL. It's a rather amateurish spec ad. "Those women" being oppressed are rather poorly comped into the shot.

the images of the women are fake but the concept is still tasteless. obviously something a man came up with.

to add: stereotypes come from reality...it's a gross generalization but they come from reality nonetheless. college (some of them anyway) is notorious for being that place where morons (i mean, students) can finally get away from the 'oppression' of their parents and go wild...especially if they actually live on-campus. and sadly to say, many college girls are notorious for getting a bit wild...hence why we have 'girls gone wild' videos.

i'm not saying junior high or high school girls are any better, but a college dormitory would be more 'legal' in this case...

personally, i certainly wouldn't want to live in a dorm that had garbage like this posted on it. plus something would have to be seriously wrong with that college for allowing that kind of advertising on their property.

MM:

"THIS AD DOES NOT TELL THEM THAT SEX IS EASY AND CHEAP. THIS IS ONLY A JOKE, AND COLLEGE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THAT."

I think that is a bit of a stretch. I've seen a lot of idiocy on campus, especially in fraternities and male dorms. Young males create their mythologies and throw themselves into it hook, line, and sinker. Testocerone is a massive inhibitor to intelligent thinking - and teenage brains are floating in it.

CassieC:

"real men are happy and relieved to be considered complete and equal humans"

(whisper) You know that guy who wears Birkenstocks and agrees with everything you say? He's trying to get into your pants. You didn't hear this from me.

I'm glad somebody here loves me, Thomas.

Mr Jones, to imagine that this ad condones rape is a way bigger stretch.

I believe you said, "If a boy ever disrespected my daughter in my presence, they are going to be cleaning him off that side of the building." - wow, talk about testosterone.