When's the last time you wanted to use a body spray, huh? It's really not something a guy tends to use - so when Axe came out with a body spray for men, it seemed like it should have been an uphill battle to convince men to use a product that (in the United States) is more often than not associated with women.

When Axe first started to flood the TV waves with their body spray adds, I remember seeing commercials directly targeting high school and college males (and their often disregard for hygiene). Let's face it. Us guys really don't care sometimes. Wear the same jeans four days in a row? No Problem. Wear a shirt a couple of times before washing? Check. It's amazing what a bachelor lifestyle is capable of permitting. Axe perfectly singled out two segments of a young male's life: his disregard for hygiene; and his desire to seem credible to the opposite sex. Axe commercials presented a solution to this conundrum. Axe told high schoolers that it was ok to be a guy, but remember that girls want you to smell clean and their product can help. Take a shower before your date? Nah, just use Axe body spray and all will be well.

As we all know now, the body spray was only the beginning. Soon we had Axe shampoo with commercials about "girl approved" hair, and Axe shower gel commercials about all-night partying. These commercials are true testaments to the male libido, and the effectiveness of marketing on that base desire.

The final nail in the coffin of Axe's ability to manipulate the male population, however, come in the form of the Axe Detailer Shower Tool. It's a loofah! Men don't want to shower while using something called a loofah though. It just sounds too feminine. But you don't have too when Axe sells a "shower tool." It's even shaped like a truck tire. The Axe Shower Tool not only keeps guys "girl approved" when it comes to hygiene, but it also squashes any homophobia, since you're now washing with a "tool" instead of a loofah. Simple amazing.

Axe has been so successful that it's spawned an imitator in Blade, and even has Degree stealing the color scheme off of them.

Without a doubt, those that run Axe's marketing campaigns deserve an award for being able to take an area of hygiene products dominated by females, and making to seem cool and desirable for men to use them. They understood their target market well and executed proficiently.

Now if you'll excuse me... I'm off to shower with my snake peel shower gel.