Classical conditioning is a powerful instrument to make specific associations in the human brain. In marketing and advertising, it is used to create positive associations with a product or service. As a result, people may find purchasing such products more attractive. In the recent advertisement “The New Axe Effect,” classical conditioning is accomplished through stimuli associated with deodorant’s ability to make a man sexually attractive, powerful, adorable, and modern to create the response of buying behaviors in viewers.
Axe commercial aims at selling the brand’s product and uses several stimuli to make viewers find the product worth purchasing. Classical conditioning suggests that “stimulus pairings influence behavior” (De Houwer, 2020, p. 2). The first apparent stimulus is a character using deodorant at the beginning of the video (Axe). Henceforth, this stimulus is combined with a display of the character’s effects on his surroundings. In particular, women’s reaction implies the character is sexually attractive. Then, in a cartoon-like part, he looks like a superhero signifying the stimulus of ultimate masculine power (Axe). Additionally, a depicted dog’s positive reaction suggests that the deodorant made the character adorable, even for animals (Axe). Another set of stimuli, including contemporary music in the background and character’s expressive look, create a response of thinking of the product as modern (Axe). Therefore, the set of the mentioned stimuli is conditioned and aims at stimulating purchasing behavior (conditioned response) in the audience as they may desire to associate themselves with the image in the video. Moreover, some viewers may develop such an unconditioned response as thinking of the advertised product when hearing the background music or seeing a single image from the video.
Overall, Axe’s commercial video uses classical conditioning to make an association between the use of their product and being attractive, powerful, adorable, and modern. The advertising features a set of stimuli in images, filmmaking approaches, and music to stimulate purchasing behavior in viewers. At the same time, the video may contribute to an unconditioned response to parts of the video or music, making a recipient think of a specific product or brand.
References
Axe (YouTube channel). (2021). The New Axe Effect [Video file]. Web.
De Houwer, J. (2020). Revisiting classical conditioning as a model for anxiety disorders: A conceptual analysis and brief review. Behavior Research and Therapy, 127, 103558.