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Sunday, September 30, 2007

The New Ad of, umm, New Axe!

Thousands of beautiful blondes, brunettes, Indian, Western, Mongoloid women, all of them swim, and slide down the top of the hillocks facing the sea. They jump over obstacles, panting, screaming, wearing green, blue, and red bikinis, and their skins glow, and their eyes are intent on only one thing. They are unstoppable as they swarm over the beach, careen down the hills, their supple bodies in the frenzy of arousal, they are unstoppable - this stampede of beauties, this dream sequence of every man.

The center of their attention is a man who sprays from a bottle of deodorant and smiles devilishly at his good fortune. For a moment I imagine it is me, because there is a reason. The advertising agencies call it “aspiration,” which makes even an almost bald man (me!) aspire to be the object of all these beautiful women. Sure, ads can delude people; some of them even live in an ersatz world created by so many advertisements, which they call: lifestyle.

It is my deodorant he is spraying over his body - Axe - but then I shake myself awake, as if from a reverie. It’s only the newest ad of your favourite deodorant – Axe – stupid. Sorry folks, for being so carried away. But the ad provoked because it was too gross. After all, as former Executive Secretary of the Advertising Standards Council of India, I am bound to have strong opinions on what an ad should and shouldn't be.

Meanwhile this is a discussion on the New Axe ad on Yahoo answers. Guess no one there, too, likes the ad. Is Hindustan Lever listening?

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