Axe Effect: Multimodal Analysis of a Controversial Ad
Axe: A Multimodal Analysis of a Controversial Advertisement
Axe is a recognized brand of gel and deodorant for men, discovered by millions thanks to the media. Its high popularity and consumption have been achieved mainly by the shocking way in which the product is shown. We have chosen this advertisement in particular because it is one of the most controversial that the company has created.
The image of the product that the company wants to show is that Axe not only allows us to improve our personal hygiene, but its smell is so irresistible that it will allow us to get many more benefits. The ad suggests that if you use Axe, you will be able to seduce any woman you want, and specifically, to have sex with them. Therefore, the social purpose of this advertisement is that society acquires this product in order to achieve that fictitious result.
Information Value and Visual Composition
To start with the multimodal analysis of the text, we first have to address the topic of information value. The image is represented in a horizontal form. On the left, we see the product itself, providing the real information. On the right, the promise of this product is shown, which is the ideal and new information. The most striking thing is that the product is located in the center of the image, giving it more importance and connecting the two images. The general information about the product is placed at the bottom, just below the image of the central shower gel.
The image shows us a composition of elements that are related to each other. The predominant color is black. This darkness ingeniously contrasts with the illuminated bodies of the man and the woman, which are highlighted in the foreground.
Thereby, this dark color scheme that surrounds both actions creates a feeling of intimacy and sensuality. Regarding the written text, the slogan ‘The cleaner you are, the dirtier you get’ appears with a larger size and with a different color than the general information of the product, which is smaller and darker, seeming less relevant. All these elements belong to the interrelated system of salience.
Framing and Vectors
Clearly, we can observe the presence of different framing devices. The product creates a central line that divides both situations in the image and allows us to observe the parallelism that exists between both bodies, despite being different situations. We see different vectors, like the two that are formed from the position of the shower gel to the pot of cream, connecting these two elements and showing their similarity. Also, we can see the parallelism that exists between the images due to the two triangles formed through the body and text that appears under each of them.
Lexical Cohesion
Now we are going to explain the different elements that construct the lexical cohesion of this text. Firstly, the slogan forms a parallelism between both images, and we can also see that the central image (the shower gel) acts as a comma, dividing the slogan into two different phrases. This increases the idea of two different situations. In the written text, we can find various cohesive devices, such as the pronoun ‘you’ that addresses the audience and two antonyms, ‘cleaner’ and ‘dirtier’, that show the opposition of the actions.
Conclusion: Sexism and Social Hypocrisy
The conclusion that we can get from this advertisement is how powerful and attractive we can be if we use this product. The company uses the image of a woman as an object in order to catch people’s attention. That is why we consider this ad sexist and denigrating for women because of the given image. We believe we do not need to use this type of image to sell a product because it is mainly a farce based on social hypocrisy.