Nonverbal Communication In Advertising

Throughout the Ex-Friend ad, there is no form of verbal communication besides the slogan, “stop being a friend, and start being a man” near the conclusion of the commercial. In doing so, the commercial relies heavily on the facial expressions and grunts between both males to communicate the battle of manliness. In the ad, the manly construction worker continually grunts when he tries to battle with the younger male to pull down the woman’s zipper (Unilever Interns, 2010). When watching the ad, one can tell that the construction worker’s grunts signify him saying “no” to the younger male pulling up the woman’s zipper. These grunts tell the viewer that one only gets disapproval from men if they help a woman instead of themselves first. If a …show more content…
Throughout the Ex-Friend commercial, the younger male shows bewilderment through his eyes and expressions as he is wide eyed and has a puzzled expression in the ad (Unilever Interns, 2010). This lets the viewer know that the male is being obtuse when deciding what to do with the girl: he does not know if he should be friendly to her or try to advance upon her. When compared to the construction worker’s seriousness in his eye contact and frustration towards the younger male, the viewer learns that a male should be dead set on undressing a woman at any chance he gets. This is especially true if the opportunity blatantly presents itself. This is the reason why the construction worker is upset at the young male who is not thinking in the right mind according to Axe. Axe tells its viewers that the male should not be thinking with his feelings and heart, but with his sexual thoughts. While the two men are fighting over the woman without speaking to each other, the woman waits for the young male, but as soon as the younger male finally zips her dress up and then is given Axe Ex-Friend spray, she turns around and stares at him promiscuously to take in his smell. She then unzips her dress down, despite the young man’s attempts to keep it up, looks him over and then bites her mouth. The woman did not have to ask the man to help her with her dress, but towards the …show more content…
The women are not waiting for the men to make a move and start the action, but can decide if they want the men or not (Listitude, 2014). At the same time, different women are portrayed in the recent campaign besides the extremely beautiful American girl. While this ad campaign still focuses on men being a more dominant force, it mentions that women play a role in the decisions men make. The #kissforpeace campaign also does not focus on the product helping a man have sexual relations, but instead focuses on helping a man think intelligently, creatively, and most importantly romantically (2014). Axe shifted its focus to be more in line with the campaigns its sister brand releases, which has shifted the focus of Axe from simply trying to help get guys laid, to helping men be the intelligent and loving man a woman wants to be in a relationship