An Axe Campaign I Like?

Believe it or not, I really dig the new Axe campaign that's been airing for the last week or so. Rather than the tired and offensive depictions of women fawning over guys who use the soap/gels, unable to control themselves, these new spots are, pardon the pun, spot-on.

Sure, gals are still involved, but in a way I find more genuine than past efforts. Body spray and shower products serve two needs: hygiene, and, yeah, attracting the opposite sex. It's never been my problem that Axe caters to this second need. It's been *how* they do it. Rather than portraying women as mindless sexual beings upon catching the scent of Axe, the commercials have identified a realistic teen image issue: young men tend to use way too much product. And girls don't dig it. So — use Axe, fix your hair, attract the ladies. Too much gel? You and your over-gelled spikes are gonna be lonely.

My biggest beef with the campaign? Overexposure. It seems every other commercial on Comedy Central is a "News Brief" for "the hair crisis" our country's young men are facing. Potentially good campaign feature? A sort of "hot or not" semi-interactive tool on the campaign's site, where guys can upload pics of their 'do, and supposedly, Axe's team of 100 women will vote.

Hillary Endorses Obama.

I bet that grabbed your attention, didn't it?

Axe does it again... Disclosure: HRC isn't my candidate of choice right now, and the ad is pretty funny, but it's silly to think a fragrance could influence a woman as knowledgeable and driven as she is. This was created by BBH London, and I'm not sure where it's getting placement. US? Overseas?

Compared to the rest of the Axe ads, I find this one to be more multi-layered thanks to it's use of current political figures. We have the first serious female contender for the highest office in the land, as well as an African-American candidate and of course, they're facing off against one another. Race and gender have both come up during this primary season, and seeing an ad like this further plays into the dynamic. Yeah, it reflects upon HRC's femininity and how she'd supposedly be susceptible to a decent body spray, but it also makes a statement about Obama and his masculinity. He's already drawing rock-star sized crowds, the Axe aura plays into his popularity quite well.

I'm following the Democratic Primary race pretty closely, and I'll admit I was taken in by this ad at first. I was about to run over to the Huffington Post to see what the hell I had missed, then realized ohhhhh.... it's an ad. The fact that it's an ad is what makes it work so well when you get the gag, but if you take it at face value, it could be pretty confusing. Is Axe trying to make a political statement here? I don't think so. Could it be misconstrued as one? Definitely.