Ad Problem:
One of today’s dominant ideologies that women are trying so hard to rid from society is that of male dominance. We see examples that perpetuate male dominance in many forms of social media and everyday life, for example in media males are often portrayed in dominant roles, with more power than females. Usually as bosses or CEO’s, males take over the pop culture scene leaving little room for positive lead female roles. In Axe’s ad for their Anarchy body spray, they attempt to include females by advertising for both male and female body spray, which gives off the illusion that females and males are equal. Many of their other ads do not attempt to do this, which is why some may see this ad through a more positive outlook.
Their attempt at equality however is masked by the subtle yet very prominent imagery of the male holding the blow-torch and the women dressed in firecrackers. This suggests the idea that although they have both been drawn together by an equal Axe spray, the male still holds all the power because he is able to light her on fire, contributing to ideas of male dominance. To further examine this ad, the male is dressed in more blue collar working clothing while the female is dressed in a more formal matter, with arms and legs and shoulders showing. This contributes to the idea that women need to dress a certain way to gain male attention or seem more attractive whereas males do not need to do this. Through the use of different clothing the male is seen as someone who earns money through work and the female is seen more as a passive figure that was drawn to the smell and perhaps the hard working image of the male figure. The female is also pictured on the sunny half of the picture, which portrays her in a more feminine light compared to the male who is depicted in a more dark, work type setting.
Original Advertisement:
Jammed Advertisement:
Jamming Philosophy:
In my jammed version of the ad the phrase “of male dominance” was adding to the catch phrase “release the chaos.” What this attempts to do is highlight that this ad indeed has imagery suggesting that males are more superior to females. So often in todays the ideology of males as superior beings is so present that we in society do not think twice about it. The portrayal of female and male equality through a body spray that can be used for both genders may be seen as an attempt at gender equality however the execution is less than subpar in the imagery that Axe has chosen to use. “Releasing the chaos of male dominance” asserts that the dominance of males in society is problematic and can be chaotic because it adds to the continual problem of female subordination.
The passive stance of the female allowing herself to be completely vulnerable to the male is how society evidently views the female, as someone who is there for male pleasure. Adding “male dominance” to the ad conveys the message that although there is a female included in the ad, she is still at the complete disposal for the male to take advantage of. At the end of the “of male dominance” I have also added “Also available for her,” as if it is a second thought that crosses the mind. In todays media female contributions to society or the work that they do is considered in second place. Axe is a brand that targets a male demographic and just now has decided to include females, which I thought was important to take note of.
