Check Out More Offenders:
Unilever (Axe’s Parent Company)
Kevin B. George
Vice President and General Manager of Antiperspirant, Deodorant, and Hair Care Business
c/o Unilever United States, Inc.
800 Sylvan Ave.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
Axe does it again with “Office Love”
Questions to Consider:
- What does this commercial say about women and men?
- Who is the target audience?
- What is concerning about creating a headless woman?
- What is concerning about reducing women and men down to body parts?
What We Think:
Sigh… Axe is at it again. They really embrace the concept of “sex sells,” because there is not one Axe commercial that does not have any sexual content in it, or men somehow trying to prey on women. In this particular commercial for Axe hair gel, we see an office romance blooming between a man and a woman. But, eew, it’s not really a man and woman, but hair (which indicates the man) and boobs (which indicates the woman). The point of this was to inform their audience that hair and boobs are what women and men notice first in someone they think is attractive. “Hair. It’s what girls see first” is definitely not even a fact. (And like Klondike and their “5 Seconds to Glory” commercial, Axe is owned by Unilever, which also happens to own body-positive, woman-friendly Dove.) — Nickole Mariona and Hailey Magee
Where we saw it: August 30, 2012, YouTube
Go to our blog to read more about this piece of media.
Denise on 11-30-2012
Dove, your hypocrisy is showing!Denise on 11-30-2012
My bad! I mean, Unilever, your hypocrisy is showing! Dove actually is doing a good thing.Kat on 12-15-2012
Really, hair? I always check out their package first! lolKrystal on 01-09-2013
"Hair that's what girls see first" ...I love how it doesn't say what the man saw first. This is completely outrageous and stupid and it upsets me that a man is just hair and woman is just boobs. What kind of message are they giving out to the young viewers? That character and personality does not matter? That one is just hidden behind a pair of boobs and some hair? And if we are, it better be good hair and it better be huge boobs. Give me a break Axe. Your commercials does not make your cheap "colognes" any better.Megan on 04-03-2013
It's clear what women mean to Axe. We are just walking breasts, nothing more. The love song in the background is a nice touch, "Oh my gosh! Cleavage! I must be in love!" Sadly, Axe does have products for women, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who won't buy them because of their offensive ads. Get it together, Axe, you're alienating part of your demographic.