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For context, this advertisement is a part of the series of ads made by the deodorant company, Axe, to promote their product: Axe Anarchy For Him + For Her. Each ad depicts a man and a woman facing each other and in a situation where an accident is about to happen, to demonstrate the slogan “unleash the chaos.”

Analysis 

In this ad, a woman holds a bag of explosives while the man holds a blowtorch, however, there is a reason why the woman is holding the bag and not the blowtorch, and vice versa. This detail speaks to gender roles and expectations for the occupations and lifestyles of men and women. As stated by Johnson et al. (2009), socially prescribed gender roles “dictate different behaviours, interests, expectations, and divisions of labour for women and men” (p. 3). The man is portrayed to be working, while the woman is portrayed to be shopping. This reflects the historical belief, brought by white colonizers, that men belong in the workplace while women should stay in the domestic sphere, and how women who were financially independent were seen as unnatural and a threat. It also reinforces the stereotype that women love to shop.

Furthermore, gender roles are performed in a variety of ways with one example being dress codes (Johnson et al., 2009, p. 4). This ad stereotypically shows a woman wearing a light and floral dress, heels and jewelry, opposite a man wearing a dark shirt, pants and boots. Additionally, both are attractive according to society’s standards of beauty, and this is where intersecting characteristics come into play. Not only are they both attractive and fit, but they are also white and able-bodied. Age also plays a role in a way that highlights norms of wanting to be a relationship at this age and norms of having to be at your most attractive at this age. In terms of sexuality, it is clear that they are both heterosexual in order to fulfill the ad’s purpose of being so attracted to each other that they will accidentally “unleash the chaos.” Finally, class and privilege is also a factor to consider as both counterparts seem to be at least middle-class. I also believe that contrasting a woman that is shopping with a man that is working unconsciously puts forth an idea that men earn and deserve their successes and wealth while women only care about spending money that she receives.

The Jammed Ad

In the jammed photo, I first attempted to showcase a very obvious division of gender by making each side more “masculine” and more “feminine.” I added a thunderstorm to the man’s side and flower petals to the woman’s side, which actually doesn’t seem to be that unnatural because we have seen this so many times in other advertisements. This demonstrates how socially constructed our perceptions of gender are as they are based on ridiculous beliefs such as how a thunderstorm somehow equates to masculinity. On the woman’s side I also added more shopping bags to reinforce the stereotype that it is a woman’s job to shop for groceries and that shopping is women-only interest. Finally, I replaced the “unleash the chaos” slogan with a line that says “he can buy them for the both of you,” emphasizing the concept of men being breadwinners and women being financially dependent on them. 

Second, I edited the man and the woman so that they adhere to society’s unrealistic beauty standards even more. The woman is now blonde, skinnier and with larger breasts and bottom, while the man is more muscular. The little changes I made revealed how they were already conventionally attractive to begin with. Clearly, using beauty as a selling point was of higher priority than accurately representing the population of the real world.

Finally, I decided to shed light on the hidden messages or subconscious ideas that the ad was conveying. I added posters on the walls of the man’s workplace that state, “The term white privilege is a myth and a lie!” and “if you aren’t willing to work for it, don’t complain about not having it.” I wanted to acknowledge how showcasing only white people in working positions may affirm beliefs of validity when it comes to seeing white people in positions of power, but simultaneously ignores systemic racism and the unequal distribution of resources and opportunities. Finally, I added a “warning” message at the bottom to emphasize how heteronormative this advertisement is and how gender-based products alienate and “other” those who identify outside of the socially constructed dichotomy.

Bibliography

Johnson, J. L., Greaves, L., & Repta, R. (2009). Better science with sex and gender: Facilitating the use of a sex and gender-based analysis in health research. International Journal for Equity in Health, 8(1), 14.