Axe - The Googly Commercials

Tracked By ANIKET KHARE

Perhaps in the west, a group watching them would chorus “AWESOME!!!”

In India, the reaction, when asked in public would perhaps be closer to outrage!!!

But privately, the same question would perhaps evoke amusement and a little admiration too for the guys who designed them!!!

Yes people, I am talking about the latest set of Axe-Googly advertisements -

Now, naughty ads with more than a normal hint at sensuality has generally been the flavour of most Axe advertisements, but for once they seem to have gotten really creative . . .

With a host of cricketing terms that have then been interpreted in the AXE-way, the advertisements certainly increased the fun component of cricket in IPL, not that the IPL was fun-starved in any way.

Critics of these ads say they are a tad too close to being raunchy than being all that entertaining and to that extent cater to more basal instincts than are common amongst the Sec-A and Sec-B customers (target of AXE). But it is exactly on these points that the advertising strategy needs to be looked into, a few salient points of which are listed below:

•    The ads weren't and haven’t yet been launched on TV. The ad makers were very clear that they did not want to incur the wrath of social-acceptability brigade by broadcasting it through media where bigger social units like families/friend circles/elderly circles would view the same. The ads were launched only on Internet TV knowing too well that viewers of this medium would often be watching the telecast alone on their laptops/mobile phones/occasional desktops. Thus they very craftily negotiated a lot of pressure on the social acceptability of these ads.
•     Many brands went to ridiculous extents to have their ads have something to do with cricket while the Cricket World Cup 2011 was on. From Hair Oil and Shampoos to Telecom service providers and auto companies, everyone wanted a piece of the World Cup action. Not AXE!!! They waited for the IPL, knowing very well that the sanctity associated with cricket as it is played in the World Cup is quite different from the seriousness with which people would look at things during IPL, thus not rubbing any of those very very serious cricket lovers on the wrong side.
•     And subtly somewhere, I got the feeling people would’ve been much more offended had these ads been released stand-alone. However, the AXE super models seemed just a variant of the IPL cheerleaders . . . I mean, if you could have the White Mischief Girls, not reason AXE-mischief Girls should be frowned upon!!!

A look around the Sec-A and Sec-B crowd would tell us that the crowd using laptops, their age groups and habits matched the AXE identity better than any other singular group entity.

To conclude, while the debate of aesthetics vs. acceptability of these ads could be a long-drawn one, they have certainly given a breath of fresh air to the world of advertising that so revolves around cricket in this country!!