This image is an advertisement for Axe Body Spray. It tells you if you "spray more," you will, in turn, "get more." So I have to ask myself: '"Get more"? Whatever do they mean?' More rabbits? They use the word get like the object is some sort of concrete possession, like shoes or koozies.
Instead, they are alluding to a common cultural phrase where getting some refers to sexual activity. The allusion uses rabbits as a substitution for sexual abundance, playing on what is considered common knowledge, the incessant sexual nature of rabbits. More importantly, every element of the advertisement deals with sex. This automatically brands the woman in the advertisement as a sex symbol.
As if the connotations brought upon by the dirty words and bunnies weren’t strong enough indicators, the woman is represented as an animalistic, sexual deviant. She is crouching down with her legs spread wide open. The message of this position is pretty clear, and is furthered by her crouching crawl that resembles a wildcat ready to pounce.
She is wearing a string bikini… A string bikini in a meadow next to bunny rabbits? Well, I give them props for pulling out all the stops. There is an underlying irony to this advertisement and other Axe ads. Cleary, no woman is going to go primeval and pounce any many wearing Axe Body Spray. However, regardless of whether the advertisers are making intentional, comedic gender stereotypes, they are certainly exhausting all possible gender assumptions. The woman in this image is highly objectified, and it can be argued that objectifications like this encourage such practices in our culture. She is portrayed as a crazed creature with a ferocity that suggests she needs a man and an intensity that suggests finding a man is her one and only pursuit.
The use of irony and appeals to sexuality in this image function as appeals to pathos. The ad is targeted toward men. Not only is the intended audience expected to long for attention from women, but also they are expected to relate to the advertisement because of the irony. The ad is supposed to be funny. Guys everywhere are supposed to giggle, nod their heads, and say “yeah,” as if they are trained to indulge in this humor. In other cultures, this ad would be seen as incredible offensive, but in our culture it can be interpreted as a direct response to the feminist movement. In fact, it is almost making fun of everything feminism battles against. Axe successfully uses humor to play on the common assumptions about gender and sexuality. The reason Axe is successful in their degrading appeals is they use irony, and irony is like that little clause that makes it okay to be politically incorrect.
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