Advertising and marketing are the driving forces behind a brand’s success and are therefore cautious about societal attitudes. It has been noticed that when there is a shift in the worldview of the consumer, advertisements adjust accordingly. For example, Complan, a milk-based energy drink for children, initially showed only boys benefitting from it and saying “I am a Complan boy”! Very soon, they changed to also showing girls saying “I am a Complan girl”. This was appreciated by women’s groups who wanted better representation of women in the media. This happened in the 90s in India when Complan  was a rage with the masses. This is also true with Gillete that changed its tagline from “The Best A Man Can Get” to “The Best Men Can Be”. (Refer https://interestincinema.movie.blog/2019/01/24/the-gillete-ad-controversy-analysed/).

But this curious and bizarre evolution of commercials is most striking in Axe body spray ads. In the early years, Axe appealed to masculinity. Many of them were steamy and encouraged men to use their sprays. By that time, grooming and body care were no longer the exclusive domain of women, and men wanted to increase their desirability quotient.  Axe ads showed men getting lucky with women merely because they sprayed themselves with their deodorants. It was called “The Axe Effect”.  Right through the eighties, nineties and the 2000s, Axe ads appealed to this hidden desire of lonely men – of wanting to get popular and make out with women. Axe promoted masculinity aggressively and was naturally a hit. It became popular with women too as they wanted their sons, brothers and husbands to be more masculine.

Masculinity has seen a resurgence with the rise of Trump. However, at the same time many men are questioning Trump’s push towards aggressive masculinity and desire a gentler and more humane version of machismo instead. These are the men who struggle with their softer sides, sensitivity, bullying, sexual orientation or depression. In fact, many are turning to the internet for answers to questions like “Is it ok to be a virgin”, “Is it ok to experiment with guys”, and so on.

It was in 2016 that Axe came out with a new advertisement Is It OK for Guys? that broke macho stereotypes. It was a part of its “Find Your Magic” campaign. It urged men to not be ashamed of crying, being a virgin, belonging to an unconventional sexual orientation, being emotional, disliking sports or wearing make-up. The commercial shows men Googling answers to these questions. Remember, this was the same company that once relished running ads portraying women as sex-starved and encouraged lonely men to douse themselves in Axe body spray so that the ladies came running.

Axe insists it has changed for the good. It claims that it is even supporting groups that counsel sensitive men. It is leading the campaign to change the narrative around masculinity. The commercial appears to be heralding a new era in the field of advertisements. While critics may argue that this complete U-turn by Axe is aimed primarily at profits, the fact remains that in the process, it is recognizing the growing number of men who are embarrassed by their sexual orientation, sensitive nature or lack of exposure to sex. While it might be unrealistic to expect a dramatic change in the mindsets of people about masculinity, Axe’s new advertisement is certainly a step in the right direction. More significantly, it proves how the advertisement world is in sync with a constantly changing and evolving society.