The Role Of Women In The Axe's Ex-Friend Commercial?

In the media, women have often been portrayed as the weaker, more dependent gender compared to that of a man (DrMuir2939, 2013). Women have also been continuously objectified for their bodies or sexuality to appeal to a male demographic in numerous commercials advertising various products. In many deodorant and cologne commercials, women are portrayed as lustful bodies that seek to pounce on the nearest good-smelling man they can find. Many brands compete to get men to purchase their product, such as Axe, Old Spice, Nivea, and Degree. These brands have to convince consumers that not only does their product work in preventing smells and keeping one clean, but that it has the power of attraction to the opposite sex. Owned by international consumer product company, Unilever, Axe was first introduced as “Lynx” in Europe in 1983 and then became the brand it is after coming to the United States in 2002 (Givhan, 2005). With more than $100 million spent in advertising in its first two years, Axe established itself as the “wingman with no physical presence”

In Axe’s Ex-Friend commercial, a young man is seen waiting for a female to come out of the bathroom in a club because he is a presumed friend of the female. The female comes out with the zipper of her dress undone and asks the male for help. However, as soon as he tries to help, a large construction worker who grunts at the male and battles with him to keep the woman’s dress unzipped, interrupts him (Unilever Interns, 2010). Eventually the younger male is given body spray and as soon as he puts it on the female undoes her dress and turns seductively towards him. The point of the commercial is that it is better to be a man who wants to be with women only for physical purposes than a man who is stuck in the “friend zone” or is seen as a best friend to a