You are now entering Ad Space, a realm of commercials, brought before us so we might examine how they work, and discuss why we both love and hate them so. So it is written …

The Product:
Axe (or Lynx, in some countries) body spray

The Promotions:

The Pitch:
We can’t guarantee Axe will get you laid … but we guarantee Axe will get you laid.

“Sex sells” is the advertising mantra that everyone knows. People often misunderstand, exaggerate, or oversimplify how it works, but it’s definitely a real thing, present in oh so many ads.

Sometimes (as we discussed in our Ad Space on GoDaddy), a hyper-sexual ad can simply be a way of grabbing attention. Other times, they’re clearly trying to link their product with sexiness, implanting the idea in people’s heads that, if they buy the right thing, they can become sexy like the people on screen and/or get said sexy people to like them.

But this is usually done through association and implication. They don’t say the product will bring you oodles of sex. They just put sexy people onscreen next to the product, show them oohing and aahing over it, and let your brain make the connection itself.

Except these Axe ads. During the 2000’s, the Axe line of body sprays, deodorants, colognes, etc. decided mere insinuation was not enough for their ad campaign. Instead, they straight up go, “This is a magic potion that makes women want to have sex with you.”

In a way, I kind of admire them for that. They’re not more honest than other advertisers (I hope it goes without saying, but Axe products do not actually work this way), but they are more … I guess upfront is the better word. We all know what sexiness in advertising is trying to do, how it’s trying to manipulate us. But where other ads try to maintain some plausible deniability, these Axe ads get direct to the point. If we’re going to promise people sex in exchange for buying our stuff, then let’s just do that.