Please see the new discussion in our Posterous space that is linked here. We are building on the Diesel ad campaign and ultimately comparing the two ads below. Read the directions carefully and participate accordingly. You will be graded on quality of response within the framework provided, which means an initial post and multiple meaningful responses to one another.
Diesel "Be Stupid"
Axe - "Any Excuse to Get Dirty"
The Diesel ad builds upon the previous idea of being stupid, rebellious and daring. The ad uses humor in a very creative way by referring to a double meaning of the term balls. They refer to the figurative meaning as in being daring and rebellious, while also referring to the other meaning of balls, as in male genitals. The girl taking a picture down her underwear indicates that she has “balls”. In other words it is showing that she is brave and daring. The girl in the ad obviously doesn’t care much for being attacked by the lion in the background, she isn’t thinking of the consequences behind her actions. The woman is also obviously attractive and wearing Diesel clothes. This hints that even though she is being ‘stupid’ she is still being daring, attractive and, overall, cool. The ad has a similar audience to the other be stupid ads. It is directed towards teens-30 year olds who are seeking excitement in their life. It is aimed towards those who are daring.
The woman in this ad loves axe so much that she is willing to lie down and let birds excrete waste on her despite the fact that she is wearing seemingly expensive clothes. This ad is more directed towards the male audience, considering the model and the revealing clothing. The product itself is also a well-known body-wash for men, not women. However, Sofie and I surveyed about 20 male students in our school and only three claimed that the woman in the image was “ok-looking”, while the remaining 17 claimed that she was not attractive at all. All 20 of the students admitted that the woman in the first ad was a lot hotter than in the second one. Considering these results we concluded that the overall impact of the ad was not very effective towards the intended audience. The message conveyed through the ad is very clear; she loves axe so much that she is willing to have birds poop on her, just so that she can use axe. Although the message is clear, it isn’t very effective. The text of the ad, “Any excuse to get dirty”, hints that this girl isn’t afraid to get dirty which primarily appeals to the male audience, making the ad more effective.
The first ad stands out a lot more than the second ad. The colors in the axe ad are very dull and nothing about it makes it stand out. On top of that according to our survey the woman isn’t even attractive. Nothing about the ad would make someone stop and turn to read the ad. The first one uses captivating colors, big text, and an attractive model.
Overall I personally do not think that the second one is effective at all, while the first one is very effective. I like the idea that axe is going for, however compared to their other adverts, this ad is significantly weaker. Their other ads express the same idea; however the women are depicted in a far more attractive way.