Take It Face To Face

WARNING: The following post contains dated advertisements that are politically incorrect and may be found offensive, shocking, or hilarious, depending on your personal beliefs. Same warning applies for the modern site.

Times are constantly changing and marketers must do their best to keep up, right? Out with the old and in with the new?

The vintage ads ranging from lipstick to kitchen appliances seem to violate every sensibility regarding gender roles that we live by today. However, these ads were completely acceptable and likely popular, and effective, when they were originally published.

The modern website for Mars’ Fling Chocolate Fingers depicts one modern marketing effort towards women. As opposed to being the brunt of jokes, Fling uses an overwhelming amount of suggestive language (“a ménage of flavors” “sneak in a quickie” “any time is the right time for a FLING”) to market towards women.

I began writing this post with the intent to compare the two methods and show progress and changes in marketing towards women over the last several decades, but now I’m not so sure. How big is the difference between eating a “naughty” chocolate bar or having a “fling in the bedroom”, and “the harder a wife works, the cuter she looks” or “the brightest jewel of all can be your lips…”?

The shift in method appears to be from bold to subtle, with the underlying message varying only slightly. Do you think objectification will continue in advertisements? What shifts or changes could marketing towards women take?

Let’s face it: sex sells. For a girl, chocolate is almost as good. It is what women want. So in a sense the commercial is saying that by using the body spray, a man can become what women want. As a marketing tactic, it is fantastic. Axe is notorious for outrageous commercials, mostly including sex. Although the commercial is targeting men, it becomes appealing to women as well because the ad makes women want to go buy the spray for their boyfriends or guy friends as well. Thus selling this particular brand to both audiences.

The women in the ad are attracted to the smell, which supposedly ignites the same desire as chocolate or sex. It is an erotic and sensual portrayal of sex, while selling a product. If sex sells, Axe body spray will be selling like hot cakes. The ad engages the viewer by drawing him in with sexy women, and keeps him entertained until the end by including different scenes that exemplify sex.

From a man’s point of view, wouldn’t you want to buy something that makes you as irresistible as chocolate to women?