Imagine a well built handsome man slaving in his shop, trying to weld parts together for a project he is working on. You can tell he is getting hot by the sweat drops on his face and the hot flame of the welder close to his exposed arms. Meanwhile, there is a gorgeous lady with fiery red hair window shopping downtown on a hot summer day. She decides to pick up some fireworks from a stand on the street for the upcoming Fourth of July. She starts to walk by the shop but finds herself almost paralyzed by an intoxicating and wonderful scent. Just then the man in the shop walks to the edge of the shop close to where the lady is standing and becomes captivated by her beautiful features and the amazing fragrance coming towards him in the breeze. He is so intrigued by her, he forgets that he still holds his welder in his hand, and fails to notice the bags of fireworks the lady is holding. Is this the opening scene from an adult rated movie? No it is the next Axe commercial based on a magazine advertisement promoting their newest product Axe Anarchy for Him and for Her. This advertisement is very effective by using an eye catching design, appealing to both sexes and the common person, and including the element of sex appeal and excitement to sell the product.
There are many ads seen while flipping through an average magazine. This particular advertisement is very powerful because it grabs the attention of the audience immediately. The ad is eye catching by adding the bright colors of the fire the man is holding with the bright colors of the woman's hair and the bright colorful fireworks she is carrying in her shopping bags. It immediately draws your attention to their waistlines and the space between them, and takes your focus up to their facial expression of surprise and wonder. It is intriguing because it takes a little thought and imagination to understand what is going on. You look at the ad, and at first glance it makes you wonder why they are so attracted to each other. This is an effective way of promoting a product because if you captivate the audience by making them want to know what product you are selling, they are way more likely to remember what the product is. This is especially beneficial because it is also more likely to cause people to talk about the ad, and ultimately the product you are selling. Someone might say to a friend something along the lines of “hey, have you seen the new Axe Anarchy ad with the man holding a welder and the woman carrying fireworks?” Now that person is advertising the product without even realizing it, and more people remember what it is you are selling.
Also, it is effective at appealing to both sexes which is important because they are trying to sell a product that is used by both males and females. Many men can relate to this advertisement because of the masculinity portrayed by the man working in the shop. Also many women can relate because of the woman carrying shopping bags. The creators of the advertisement took activities that the two sexes can realistically relate to separately and combined them together to appeal to everyone. Another twist they through in is the appeal to the common person. While many advertisement's and commercials use well known famous people to sell a product, they use a different approach here. While using famous people can help sell product, because it suggests that it is good enough for the stars so it is good enough for you, it is sometimes better to appeal to the common person. This ad uses what seems like 2 ordinary people living ordinary lives. This is effective, because it is suggesting that anyone can use there product and have a good experience with it. I gives it a sense of attainability, which is important because if people feel as if they are unable to attain a product, they will probably lose interest.
Finally, the strongest selling point in this advertisement would have to be the sex appeal. Sex appeal is used in a multitude of