For Saussure (67), the linguistic sign is constructed through the relationship of two other notions: the signifier and the signified. The arbitrariness of this relationship is what advertisers take advantage of in subliminally showing a different meaning to their advertisements. The same can be seen in the advertisements for Axe’s Excite and Dove’s Go Sleeveless deodorants. Whereas the former’s Even Angels Will Fall ad conforms to the fantasies that men have regarding their masculinity, Dove’s commercial conforms to the supposed liberation of women by going sleeveless.
Advertisers subliminally change this meaning by associating a different concept to their product. As an example of the linguistic sign, the word deodorant is the signifier that signifies the product or the real thing. Deodorants, which are supposed to be for hygienic purposes traditionally, are given new associations with previously unrelated desires. The same concept can be seen in almost every advertisement in its various medium: print, television commercials, or radio. This association of an unrelated desire to a product can be called the commodification of desire, wherein the advertisers are selling the desire instead of the actual product (Maasik and Solomon 161).
The Axe Excite commercial starts off with the setting appearing to be somewhere in Italy, as supported later on by an old man exclaiming, “mamma mia”, which is an Italian expression easily recognized by a lot of people. Suddenly, a loud sound can be heard as a woman appears to be falling from the sky, to the surprise of the people. As the woman starts to stand up, a halo can be seen above her head, as well as wings, showing that the woman is an angel. The next shots show more angels falling from the sky, with people showing their shock and disbelief. The angels are shown walking, which ultimately leads to an average-looking guy about to ride his moped. The guy breathes heavily as the angels show him an expression of seductiveness. One of the angels smashes her halo to the ground, with a triumphant expression. The other angels follow suit, smashing their halos to their ground, and the scene cuts off to the same guy using the advertised product. The voice-over narrates “New Ace Excite. Even Angels Will Fall”, and the commercial ends with a loud thud being heard as the guy looks at the product curiously.
Dove’s Go Sleeveless commercial is shorter and it shows five women, wearing different colors for their clothes. It starts off and ends with the voice-over narrating:
Discover a new way to go sleeveless! Real women tried New Dove Go Sleeveless Deodorant. With one quarter moisturizer and Vitamins E and F. 5 days later, we gave them a challenge: Will they cut their sleeves? They all did. Beautiful, smooth, and protected underarms, in just 5 days. Dove Go Sleeveless Deodorant.
What both of these commercials have shown explicitly is that they have a specific target demographic. Although the Axe Excite commercial shows both men and women in their setting, the main character, or the guy who used the product is different and this is highlighted. The average-looking guy is the only guy who appears to be in his 20s whereas the commercial showed different shots of children and older people. This serves to show that target audience of the product are men who are in their 20s. The imagery used to portray the guy as average-looking, driving a moped, and sloppily-clothed serves to establish a connection between him and the audience. This makes him a character that is easily relatable due to his normal and average characteristics.
Axe’s commercial draws on the fantasy of men, especially those who are in their 20s, which is to be surrounded by beautiful women. The angels are used as signs to show beauty that is otherworldly in description and men who used this product is promised a shortcut to these women. Solomon (172) states that: “This is fantasyland, a dream world promising instant gratification no matter what the facts of the matter may be”. This commercial, similarly with others targeted at men, is primarily sexual in nature. It draws on the insecurities of men who are unable to find a woman, or those who find women falling for them. By using and channeling on their desire for such a thing, and promising an instant solution, men who are swayed by such an advertisement buys the product and tries it. Despite the chances of such an event to happen, these men have nothing to lose by doing so.
Dove’s commercial on the other hand, draws more on the reality of empowering women. This can be seen by comparing the style and the production value of the two commercials. While Axe’s commercial uses visual effects to heighten its impact on its fantasy, Dove’s commercial shows that it is on the side of being realistic. In the commercial, it is noticeable that the five women who supposedly used the product are of varying characteristics. Each of the women has different colors for their clothes, hair, and skin type. This diversity, although subtle in its expression, subliminally creates the meaning that the product not only empowers women, but also supports diversity. However, it should be noted that this diversity does not transcend the boundary of race as shown in their commercial.
Craig (184) states that “Advertisers therefore portray different images to men and women in order to exploit the different deep-seated motivations and anxieties connected to gender identity.” In the Axe commercial, women are represented by angels who are driven by their lust instead of their rationality. Both commercials employed and tried to show diversity in that the angels are also of varying hair color and skin type. However, this diversity is unable to hide the sexism shown in the commercial that debases women to their carnal desires. This portrayal of women serves to add to the supposed masculine image of men: that the number of woman who surrounds you correlates to how manly you are as an individual.
Dove likewise portrays a different image of men, or rather a lack of wherein the only man shown in the whole commercial is that of the professional who administers the challenge. The man wears a lab coat, suggesting that only a doctor or a professional is acceptable in a commercial that is primarily targeted to young women. While Dove tries to associate its product with women empowerment and diversity, it also similarly feeds on the insecurities and desires of women. Whereas deodorants are primarily only for hygienic reasons, Dove turns it into a sign of beauty. This is where the commodification of desire begins. The underarms are typically not judged according to its visual appearance but rather more on its smell. This is because this part of the body, compared to the face, is rarely seen in public and is not given any attention. By highlighting and showing that the underarm is also an indicator of beauty, Dove has successfully their target audience more insecurity.
Roberts (125) states that: “One important reason that consumers buy products is to satisfy their social needs.” This social need is represented in both of the ads, albeit gender-specific. For the Axe commercial, we see the need to find a companion or a woman to be in a relationship with. It reinforces the gender stereotype that men are people who only thinks of women and sexual acts. This social need is especially true towards men in their 20s as society and peer pressure dictates that men should have already been with a woman by this point in their life. For the Dove commercial on the hand, it reinforces the desire to be part of where ‘real’ women belong. It adds to the notion of woman empowerment, in that women are supposed to be independent of men.
Regarding effectivity of the ads, while the Axe Excite commercial had more impact than the Dove commercial, it also has a lot of negative connotations. These connotations further deepen the notion of sexism and masculinity that debases the image of women in the society. Furthermore, the commercial seems to deliberately use signs such as angels as signs of sexuality in order to attract negative feedback to the said commercial. This point is further backed by the setting, which seems to take place somewhere in Italy, where the Vatican is located. By using these sensitive signs, even though it gets negative reactions from people, it has still succeeded in getting attention for their product.
The Dove commercial does a better job of portraying and jumping on the bandwagon of woman empowerment despite actually doing the opposite. Although it tries to showcase itself as being realistic, it actually strays from being realistic. There is no clear-cut implication that the five women they chose for their challenge have no relation whatsoever to Dove. However, despite its subliminal messages, people are more likely to react positively towards woman empowerment. This is especially true in a society that is mostly patriarchal in nature.
Despite the differences in that one commercial used fantasy as compared to the more realistic approach of the other, both of the advertisements take advantage of gender-specific motivations and frustrations in order to market its product. By marketing it as gender-specific, it limits the circumstances wherein people will buy the other brand. Since Axe is supposedly for men only, there is likely no woman who will use it even though such connotations are arbitrary in nature. The same can be said of Dove, which is catered to be a product for women’s use.
Works Cited
Craig, Steve. “Men’s Men and Women’s Women”. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 8th ed. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 2015. 182-193. Print.
Deja Boo Ad. “Funny Axe commercial – Even the angel fall”. Online Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 31 Oct. 2012. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
Maasik, Sonia, and Jack Solomon. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 8th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 2015. Print.
Murphy, Jenny. “New Dove Go Sleeveless Ultimate Deodorant Advert 2011”. Online Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 2 Jul. 2011. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
Roberts, James. “The Treadmill of Consumption.” Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 8th ed. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 2015. 123-127. Print.
Saussure, Ferdinand de. Course in General Linguistics. Eds. Charles Bally and Albert Sechehaye. Trans. Roy Harris. Illinois: Open Court. 1983. Print.
Solomon, Jack. “Master of Desire: The Culture of American Advertising”. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture for Writers. 8th ed. Eds. Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. 2015. 166-176. Print.
