It amazes me that such things are manufactured. And more amazing is that people actually buy this s... stuff.

My interpretation wasn't that our "tool" hooked up with Jessica and her mom at the same time, but that he's dating Jessica and also hooking up with her mother -- and this Axe product allows him to keep them from finding out that he smells like the other woman.

barf.

And a total cock and balls placement of the product in the corner there.

It's funny to see over at BoingBoing people trying to explain away this ad, how it could be interpreted totally innocently, or it's simply a man with "extra dating opportunities."
I think Axe is playing on common porn themes - incest, being serviced by multiple women, and the male sexual pleasure gained by watching women do things they would normally find repellent and humiliating.

Isn't the raison d'être of this blog "... to encourage all kinds of people to exercise and develop their sociological imagination by presenting brief sociological discussions of compelling and timely imagery that spans the breadth of sociological inquiry". And not just post depressing stuff from Jezebel, with snarky additions & comments?

While I agree that the ad is in questionable taste, it does play with porn stereotypes. One might be able to string up an argument that it could be borderline satirical, but I'm not going to go there.

I would like to know where on earth you found a connection to any coercive element (viz the sentence about "coerce women" in the second-to-last paragraph), though.

Unless I'm overlooking something, that makes your "protest" over this ad much less believable, since it makes it seem as if you were just looking for something to point out something about Evil Advertisers[tm] or Evil Men[tm].

Unless I'm overlooking something - in that case please let me know.

In response to DK's comment, wondering about "any coercive element" to the sexuality implied by this ad:

If the man is going to be wearing Axe cologne, or smelling like any Axe product, I think it's pretty much a sure thing that any sex he's going to have is going to be coercive, except with himself.

Have you ever smelled this stuff? If Rohypnol had a smell, it would be Axe cologne.

I think the product is for men who can't resist sampling the perfume they find in their girlfriend's house, but have to wash it off afterwards because they're embarrassed.

@Trabb's Boy: I think that he tried to sample Jessica's eau de cologne but splashed half a bottle on his ear, then with the surprise he accidentally hit Jessica's mom's perfume bottle, knocked it from the shelf and broke it on the floor, so he tried to mop up the disaster. That explains the scented knees perfectly! XD

Oh, and by the way: do you call these things "sponge flower" over there, too? I guess the name is not manly enough XD

To DK's comment that

I would like to know where on earth you found a connection to any coercive element (viz the sentence about “coerce women” in the second-to-last paragraph), though.

The coercive element isn't claimed to be in the ad; brett refers to "coerc[ing] women" in the context of "an incestuous situation". brett's implication is that generally speaking, people who are related aren't eager to--are, indeed, loathe to--engage in sexual acts together, even if "together" involves no mutual contact and only simultaneous activity with a third person. I think that's a fair implication. (Assuming you're interested in a threesome, would you want one of the other people to be your parent? your sibling? Speaking personally: ew. Ew ew ew ew ew.)

I don't have an answer for brett, except to say that the threesome-with-siblings (if not mother-daughter) is so pervasive as to be easy for impressionable minds to accept without really thinking through the implications. There's probably a compilation post to be made right there. (For instance, I just last night saw a Comcast commercial in which a customer is bragging to a friend that his ability to watch things on demand was enough to entice the something-or-other sisters to come over. It may be too recent to be on Youtube, though on a casual search I found this Coke ad in which among the many things a retiree wishes he'd accomplished is sleeping with twins.)

All of which is roughly beside the real point, namely: man, Axe really is trying to market its product to total assholes, isn't it?

All of which is roughly beside the real point, namely: man, Axe really is trying to market its product to total assholes, isn’t it?

I completely agree with that. (Minor disclaimer: I used one of the deodorant sprays for a while. I liked the smell. But yes, their marketing is to assholes, and yes, most of their products just reek.)

I think my comment was mostly written because I just don't like looking at *everything* through the men-are-evil-women-are-victims-men-wanting-sex-are-superevil glasses. I still think the connection to the coercion is very strenuous at best.

(second disclaimer: English is only my second language, so please interpret any possible ambiguities in my favor :-) )

Is it simple attraction (i.e., if you’re attracted to one woman in a family, it’s likely you’ll be attracted to other women who look/act like her)? Is it the taboo element? Or does the power to coerce women into an incestuous situation serve as it’s own reward?

ZOMG get off the internet NOW Rule 34 is right behind you.

I'll grant you that, even in this depraved age, it's a bit unusual to see an ad that hints at the possibility of a mother-daughter act, whether sequentially or simultaneously. But, for Christ's sake, man, your speculations are redolent of the naïf that feigns horror at the notion that people put their pee-pees in each other's mouths, then demands precise details of how such acts are performed. In other words, I firmly believe that you went straight out and bought one of these things: ad agency mission accomplished.

In case I was a little too arch in my previous response, let me be a little more blunt: getting outraged at the schemes used to sell grooming products of dubious value is a mug's game. I mean, they sell razors with batteries in the handles now. Batteries.

@DK: I don't think the post (or posts like it) are saying that men are evil and women are victims. The post is critiquing common media images of men as evil (and sex crazed) and women as victims (and duped by evil sex crazed men).

Axe is so disgusting, offensive and sexist.

The ad makes no inference as to whether or not the acts between Jessica and Jessica's mother were simultaneous, so I think the incest reaction says more about this blog than the ad....

AXE is marketing to adolescent males, to whom the (adolescent) idea of obtaining taboo sexual conquests is still quite appealing.

I'm sure in a few years AXE ads will change to reflect their target demographic, and we'll see the same ad referencing the wife AND the babysitter.....

But yeah, ICK!

The ad makes no inference as to whether or not the acts between Jessica and Jessica’s mother were simultaneous, so I think the incest reaction says more about this blog than the ad

They still have to have been awfully close in time for the perfume from both women to still be on the guy.

Ultimately, Halloween Jack may be right: Axe ads are awfully low-hanging fruit when it comes to sociological images.

Elena was on to something in explaining the perfume on the knees bit. How do you get perfume on your knees? Mom likes it rough and took a few knee jabs to the face? Mom has a knee fetish and spent a good deal of time caressing said knees? It seems like an odd joint to reference in regards to sexual intercourse.

I was pondering the perfume on the knees location, and then I realized that if said Axe user was seated and Jessica's mom was kneeling between his legs... Anyway, that puts Jessica's mom in a position that is seen as decidedly subservient. So not only do you get the kicks of a mom-and-daughter (Here's to you Mrs Robinson), you also get the older, presumably more powerful, woman literally crawling on her knees to please our young man. Which promotes him to a more powerful position not only vis-a-vis Jessica's mom, but by extension all older women, including his own mother. How's that for pseudo-incestuous implications!

I approve.

As long as the mother doesn't quite look her age, there's nothing wrong with using such scenarios in an ad.

That said, why get upset over an ad that doesn't hurt anybody? Geez. It's fun and current. Let it go.

....aaaannndd it's painfully clear that a good third of the commenters don't understand this site, or sociology in general.

I'm looking at you DK and Vinny (and a whole host of other people). Try reading even the fucking wikipedia page on sociology, then coming back. Kthx.

One thing that has not been pointed out (at least explicitly) in the commentary so far is that the incestuous threesome fantasy (twins, mom/daughter, etc) it's really driven home that the big P assumes that in a threesome comprised of 2 women and a man, then the women are clearly there for the man's enjoyment and not for their own. It's just assumed that he is the focus. The reason that it doesn't matter to them that the situation is incestuous is because the women "obviously" have no interest in each other (unless the man wants them to perform for his enjoyment).

Extra fail.

As long as the mother doesn’t quite look her age, there’s nothing wrong with using such scenarios in an ad

Did you really read what you just wrote? Wow.

it's not a frilly foliating shower sponge if it looks like a manly tire! that's gotta be some pretty strong perfume if it needs to be SCRUBBED off.

... and by foliating, I mean exfoliating

Wow.. I'm a little late to this conversation, but I'd thought I'd put my two cents in anyway.
This ad doesn't read as a threesome to me. Rather it is the boyfreidd cheating on the girlfriend with her mother (a fantasy that is just as ranpant, and no less problematic as the threesome one). The time of the incidents doesn't matter much as perfume lingers, and it does not say that both perfumes are on at the same time. It does however have the notion that it is being washed off so at least one doesn't find out about the other. The placements of the perfume are key here. The dauther's appears on the ear (implies necking); the mother's is on the knees (implies a BJ). It plays into the idea that the girlfriend is the girlfriend because they are about the same age (she is presumably hotter because she is younger); however, because of her youth she won't give it up, so the boyfriend goes to the overly sexed mother (now here's the trope about cougars) who is more than willing to provide what the daughter won't.
In short, I think your interpretation about this being a threesome is wrong; however this doesn't excuse the ad, as the cheating interpretation is just as disgusting.

The ad to me is suggestion a "Mrs. Robinson" situation, which is definitely an old-school fantasy of dating the beautiful innocent girl, and also being attractive to the experienced older woman.
Intending to make men feel young and attractive to all women, and also sexually excited by the taboo.
I agree that the incest suggestion by other people posting on here is their own inference.
I didn't get that.

Also, the "cock and balls" placement in the corner has the added bonus of white sudsy creamy bubbles. Geez!

The ad campaign of all AXE products from the get go of its creation has always seemed to be "if you use this product, any and all women will find you irresistable and you will have to beat them off with a stick".
The demographic is young men who might feel insecure about how attractive they are, and of course "adolescence meets hygeine".

Its not as skanky as American Apparel ads though

Oops - I meant to say that the threesome part I didn't get. That seemed to be inferred by other posters on here.
The washing off the perfume is so the each of the women wouldn't know that he was fooling around with the other.
The suggestion of a BJ is pretty powerful - the ad doesn't seem to put down women in my opinion, but again says "our product will make women yound and old attracted to you in all ways"

Also, the text on the bottom is interesting - "a rough red side for your tough guy parts, a soft black side for your sensitive guy parts"
It makes men feel like the product understands they have emotions and feelings too - that they are both tough and sensitive, that they are complex.

"the ad doesn’t seem to put down women in my opinion"

Actively put women down? No.

Reduce them to nothing more than fuck toys that are panting at the bit for a REAL MAN wearing a REAL COLOGNE? That's what Axe does on a regular basis.

love it! The only thing missing from these comments were the boring and banal. The fact that men who want to use a poof ball (No pun intended) won't buy them because they are afraid it will make them a poof unless it is masulinized. Hmmm. That is unfortunately what we are taught masculinity is about. Not using anything pastel, and using and degrading women. nice.

@Halloween Jack

Just TRY one of those razors with batteries in the handle. One way right after the other, leave it off for a few strokes, then turn it on for a few.

You'll never shave with a non-powered razor again, regardless of brand.

Is there anything an incestuous ear and knee sex threeway CAN'T sell?

This is a cross-cultural phenomenon: In Japan there is a saying: 親子丼食べたい！ Meaning, "I want to eat the Chicken & Egg Ricebowl!" Chicken & Egg = Parent & Child or as the sexual variant goes: I'll have the Mother & Daughter plate please.

My first thought is the cheating angle, not so much the threesome angle, although it could be deliberately ambiguous. There's nothing in the description to specifically imply that all of that perfume is being washed off in one shower, just that that's what it's for.

As far as "men-are-evil", please go read The Gender Knot. The first chapter is even free, so at least read that, and try to come back with an understanding that we're not talking about particular men or even men-as-men. We're talking about sociology.

http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1780_reg.html

(Disclaimer/credit: I wouldn't have know about the free chapter if http://scienceblogs.com/thusspakezuska/ weren't having an online discussion about the book right now)

While I agree that this ad is offensive, gross, etc, I'd just like to submit that I don't see anything inherently sexist about wanting a threesome. It certainly can be a desire with sexism at its base, and this ad certainly takes that angle, but the desire in and of itself is, imo, value-neutral.

"That is unfortunately what we are taught masculinity is about. Not using anything pastel, and using and degrading women. nice."

And, most importantly, ignoring everyone's else's voice of experience in favor of your own opinion based on what personally benefits you the most.

I love how it also looks like a tire. Rubbing a tire on your body...now that's manly!

Just want to point out that the blogger here suggests that "mom" means related by blood. It does not, in fact, always mean that, and the lack of a blood tie in a mother/daughter relationship doesn't make the ad's insinuation any less... Taboo? Disturbing? Upsetting? Shocking? Titilating? Whatever Axe was going for...

It might insult women but I don't think it exploits them. There is also the self-mocking angle, of a man who can admit he is a tool but isn't quite adult enough to stop being one - leading to a common message for advertising: indulge your guilt.

Julie's comment "I love how it also looks like a tire. Rubbing a tire on your body…now that’s manly!" made me glance back up at the ad itself, and I looked at the name of the product for the first time - the "Detailer shower tool"!

Clearly its name divorces it from the stereotype of "feminine" specialized shower products and links it instead to the "masculine" automotive. Interestingly, it is the man's body that assumes the role of the car being "detailed", or cleaned. In addition to the pornographic implications already discussed here, does this ad perhaps promote an image of the male body as a machine?

What does that mean for the user of the product (or the viewer of the ad) when it comes to self-esteem, willpower, identity between mind and body, etc?

I think the print ad isn't about a boy having an incestuous threesome. I think it's about a boy two-timing a girl his age and her mom. He needs to wash off each woman's perfume to keep his affair with the other a secret.

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Good advertising strategy with positive impact of fish eat fish to create good results.

Does the power to coerce women into an geometry dash lunar incestuous situation serve as its own reward?

Wow, that's a pretty wild ad! Axe is definitely pushing boundaries. Some of the comments are a bit intense, but it's interesting to see how people interpret it differently. Makes you think! Cheese Chompers 3D

Wow, that's a pretty messed up ad! I mean, Axe is always pushing boundaries, but this one just feels kinda creepy and off. Definitely makes you think about the messages they're sending. Internet Roadtrip

Wow, that Axe ad is something else! It's crazy how they try to market to men. Makes you wonder what kind of images they're trying to create. Reminds me I need to try that nano banana image AI thing I saw advertised!

That specific Axe Detailer Shower Tool ad's claim to 'Washes Jessica's perfume off your ear' is just something else, isn't it? Honestly, I often scroll past weird ads on my phone while waiting for coffee, and this one, with its bizarre implication, actually makes me think that maybe developing a casual bear clicker game would be a more productive use of marketing budgets, haha.

Is it the taboo element? Total Casino

The “Axe Detailer Shower Tool” ad is such a perfect example of how grooming products were sold as a way to manage masculinity, not just hygiene. The joke about washing “Jessica’s perfume off your ear” makes the gender performance feel especially on-the-nose, and it’s hard not to read the whole thing as a tiny lesson in consumer culture. If anyone is interested in creative image workflows for ad-style mockups, qwen image edit can be handy.

The oversized power-tool imagery makes the gender coding hard to miss. Framing competence through masculine props shows how ordinary product marketing can reinforce assumptions about who technical work is for.

This ad is such a sharp example of how grooming products get packaged as a masculinity performance rather than just hygiene. The “tool” framing and the oddly specific references to Jessica make the joke feel both ridiculous and revealing

This ad is a great example of how grooming products were sold through awkward masculinity and fake utility. The “tool” framing makes the joke, but it also shows how much early men’s marketing leaned on turning everyday hygiene into a performance

This ad is such a good example of how grooming products get wrapped in awkward masculinity cues. The “tool” joke feels especially telling because it turns basic hygiene into a pseudo-manly gadget instead of just letting it be personal care

This ad is such a good example of how products get gendered through humor and awkward “tool” language. The whole “detailer shower tool” gimmick feels like it’s selling masculinity more than cleanliness

This ad is a great example of how grooming products get sold through awkward gender scripts instead of actual usefulness.

This ad is a perfect example of how product design can be used to sell a very specific version of masculinity.

The language around the product seems as important as the image: calling a sponge a tool reframes an ordinary care routine as masculine equipment. Comparing that wording with a version sold without gendered cues could help separate the marketing message from assumptions about individual buyers.