Axe’s Find Your Magic campaign is a start to a change in the way we view masculinity and men in commercials and hopefully society as a whole. Specifically in Axe's “is it okay for guys…” commercial, it touches upon the way we teach our young men about what it means to be a man. I think the campaign and commercials are absolutely brilliant and I feel not enough people are talking about it. Axe's 2017 commercial if you have not seen it yet, covers some of the basics on what feminists fight for in regards to men. The ad opens up with a statistic, “72% of guys have been told how a real man should behave.” The commercial then breaks off into a number of scenarios and questions that young men ask such as “is it okay to be skinny? Is it okay to not like sports? Is it okay to experiment with guys? Is okay for guys to wear pink? Is it okay to be nervous? Is it okay to be a virgin? And several more. This commercial especially for Axe, I believe, is not only brilliant but needed.
Axe as we all know typically uses sex tactics to appeal to their male audience. They've used this countless times. There's always a young man pursuing a woman and not being able to get her at first, but once he puts on any Axe product he becomes irresistible to all women. Some commercials were funny appealing to teenage men but really pushing the idea of sex. The reason why I am in love with this new approach is that it relates to young men on a level that many advertisers don't try to do in commercials for young men. I found this commercial more relatable especially for the age group that they try to hit. Axe appeals mainly to teenage boys who are trying to figure out what exactly it means to be a man. The commercial hits what we as a society are teaching our young men about masculinity. The commercial finishes with the final question of "is it okay for guys to be themselves?" Which is a question for anyone watching the commercial? Axe is forcing us to think about what we are teaching our young men and how masculinity in itself is taught.
In regards to re-branding, I think this was a step in the right direction for the company. This can be the beginning of a new era for Axe and an inspiration for young men not to constantly have to fall in line with society's construct of what we have made masculinity and how we have chosen to define it. I believe that men have standards that we don't talk about because they are supposed to be men. The pressure we put on young boys and men to be tough, get girls, to not show emotions etc.These pressures truly have an impact on young men. So Thank you Axe for deconstructing masculinity as a male product. Our young men will thank you for years to come.
