Comments on: Axe vs. Dove

By: Tech Task #7 | the beginning

Tech Task #7 | the beginning — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:38:24 +0000

[...] writing about my personal thoughts and experiences. One of favorite blog posts would have to be Axe vs. Dove, even though the post is very simple and includes barely any text, it had quit a few responses and [...]

By: Kyle Lichtenwald

Kyle Lichtenwald — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 05:20:34 +0000

I wasn’t aware of this Jenna. Shows the power of branding a product with targeted campaigns. This is a great comparison to touch on when teaching about critical viewing and media awareness. Thanks for raising the issue!

By: aprilsoloway

aprilsoloway — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:05:52 +0000

Just great- they demean women and set unattainable standards of beauty with one product, and then they appeal to our shattered self-esteems with their other product. Ironic, but they attract customers from both sides of the spectrum. I didn’t know that Axe and Dove were made by the same company, which just goes to show that you can’t always believe what you see. I thouht Dove’s self-esteem ads were great, but now I see that they were just taking advantage of the women whose self-esteems they destroyed through their Axe ads. Thank you for sharing this.

By: martinuks

martinuks — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:42:08 +0000

oooOOOOhhhh….thats funny. Goes to show you that the company really doesnt give a toot about their customers, they just know their target audience well, and how to best sell their product. I think this is why the representation of the media in our curriculum is so important to teach kids how to think critically about what they are seeing and hearing…or else they are just part of the flock that goes around doing whatever they are told to do, and not think for themselves. A documentary I saw once(can’t remember the name) actually has a woman admitting to designing commercials targeted to kids to get them to demand the product from their parents. The stereotypes these two commercials present may be subtle and normal to someone just watching a commercial…but in reality, we are just buying into these morals and ideals, because we are shown that they are normal…

By: kkrug

kkrug — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:48:25 +0000

Haha, wow, too ironic

By: lmillar

lmillar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:49:07 +0000

Hey. I’ve known about the axe/dove thing for a while. It is ironic, but it also makes you question what you viewing. I think the dove commercials are great ads, but I find it controversial that they are from a company that makes ads that show an opposite view. Maybe, we need to look for better self-esteem campaigns, ones that don’t come with a controversy. Sometimes, good things really are hard to come by in this world.

By: rkvamme

rkvamme — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:34:22 +0000

Wow! Interesting to say the least..

By: Alec Couros

Alec Couros — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:32:16 +0000

Good call, Jenna!