In a recent post I discussed ways in which companies market beauty products to men, who traditionally aren’t supposed to worry about things like their pores. Here are a couple more examples.
Axe has a body scrubber for men (pointed out by akamarkman):
To differentiate it from girly body scrubbers, it’s called the Axe Detailer Shower ToolAxe Shower Scrub (or body wash, if you’re female) comes in varieties including Snake Peel, Skin Contact, and Glacier Water (scroll a little less than halfway down to see the varieties).
Here is an ad for the Detailer Shower Tool that shows a man being treated like a car in a car wash (cleaned by futuristically-attired women):
Gillette 2-in-1 Body Wash helps men prevent skin dehydration. And that helps them get hot girls at work:
This Gillette ad tells men to unleash “power” to “defeat dry skin:
Notice how buff he is. We also learn that this body wash is a “hydrator” (not a moisturizer) and that it’s “high-performance” to provde a “powerful defense” that leaves you with the sense you “can take on the world.” So macho!
Andrew F. sent in a link to a post at DirectDaily about the Axe Schedule ad. In it, we see that a set of dorm rooms is overlaid with a calendar, the idea being that you get a different girl each day:
Gwen Sharp is an associate professor of sociology at Nevada State College. You can follow her on Twitter at @gwensharpnv.
Comments 4
Sociological Images » EDGE JOINS AXE — July 8, 2008
[...] Well, apparently, like all news went the way of FOX, all men’s hygiene product companies are going the way of Axe. Consider this Edge commercial (and compare it to the first Axe commercial in this post): [...]
Sociological Images » Geez, what a tool! — June 3, 2009
[...] The following is a print ad from those one-trick ponies over at Axe Body Spray in an ongoing effort to market shower products to men. [...]
Exfoliating-Bath-Scrubbers-Taylor — September 4, 2009
I'm an axe product user myself. What I like most is their deodorant because the smell actually lasts longer than their axe spray perfumes which only lasts for an hour as I can remember. I'm looking for to this axe shower product. Up for this.
Sociological Images Update (Apr. 2010) » Sociological Images — May 1, 2010
[...] We added another great example of hygiene products being marketed to men by arguing that it enhances, instead of detracts from, their manliness. In this one, sent in by Lucia M.-M., truly manly body wash is contrasted with sissy manly body wash. [...]