Misha Sillifant
Lynx/Axe Apollo – Nothing Beats an Astronaut
This advert is advertising Lynx/Axe deodorant and body wash and is also advertising their competition of sending people into space. The company teamed up with moonwalker Buzz Aldrin to send 22 people into space and “make sure they smell nice doing it”.
The advert starts with a lifeguard sat overviewing the beach looking as if there’s not much for him to be doing by the way he is positioned, slouching on the chair. As the camera is still on him he then hears a scream and picks up his binoculars and starts to look through them. The use of the camera staying on him while the audience hears the scream allows them to wonder who is screaming and why, making them want to continue watching. You then see what’s happening in the lifeguard’s perspective through the binoculars and the lighting has gone darker to suggest danger and the music has also increased to create tension. A girl far out in the water screaming for help is first seen, which is a very realistic scenario however as he moves his binoculars across a shark appears moving towards her which is a little less realistic but still believable.
The advert then becomes more dramatic as you see the expression of the lifeguards face change, him throw down his binoculars and finally jump off his seat. This expressions suggest panic and as the music gets faster again the audience know that he is about to go and save her. The pace of the advert then increases as he runs down the beach and jumps into the water. The camera shots are also the very quick as it changes to underwater shots to onshore shots which causes the audience to feel like they are in that position to cause panic and is meant to make the audience know how dangerous that situation is.
The next thing that is seen is a long shot of the lifeguard swimming over to the shark, this then shows how big the shark is so the audience can admire the lifeguard for risking his life to save the girl. He then starts to hit the shark still with the fast paced shots one which is a close up shot of the sharks’ teeth again suggesting the danger of the shark.
The lifeguard grabs the girl and carries her back to the shore. There is a shot from behind showing him carrying her and the people on the beach can be seen in the background all in a line watching and he walks towards them as if he is the ‘hero’. He then lays her down in front of everyone which is followed by a low angle shot of the lifeguard with a light background behind him to signify him being good and angel like.
The girl then sees an astronaut and leaves the lifeguard for him. This is unexpected to the audience as the lifeguard is stereotypically very good looking and it wouldn’t be expected for her to leave. The editing is then changed to slow motion as she runs towards the astronaut which is used for male gaze. Continuing the slow motion the astronaut takes off his helmet and isn’t as attractive as the lifeguard. This then appeals to men as they might believe that the girl will choose them over any other man. The message that is then perceived is that AXE/Lynx want people to buy their product to then enter the space competition to think that they would be able to get a girl just from being an astronaut and going to space.