Gentlemen… do you have dirty balls? I mean you clean them, but do you really clean them enough? Planting this lingering doubt is more than just a provocative trick I've concocted to get you to read on. It is the marketing strategy that Axe has devised to compel millions of young men across the globe to shell out a few bucks for a new product called the Axe Detailer that helps you… well, clean your balls. Take a look… If you're uptight, you may find the video Axe put out to be offensive. If you're not, you'll note that this video is hysterical. If you're nineteen, you might be in your car on the way to Target to pick one up. Success requires a skillful touch. Axe is not the first brand to push the boundaries of "good taste," speak to a consumer on their own terms, and be shockingly awesome. Advertising has been doing this since its inception. But in recent years, It has reached new levels of offensive excellence. The Phillips Body Groomer Shave Everywhere campaign blew the minds of the marketing world a few years ago by using a carrot and two walnuts as a metaphor for a man's dainty bits and enticed the masculine masses with the promise of an extra "optical inch." "What I'll remember most about my birthday is that you forgot it." "I want you to sext me with the reckless abandon of a philandering golf legend." "Sorry I broke up with you via this ecard." And that's the tame stuff. The common thread between the Axe Detailer ad, ShaveEverywhere. and Someecards.com is that they were all skillfully written by extremely talented creative professionals. They push boundaries, but craft their communication to be sophisticated with a delightfully sinful edge. Axe makes a a wonderful double-entendre. ShaveEverywhere.com talked about body grooming without ever mentioning a nibbly-bit in the communication. The Inherent Danger. For instance, I first became aware of the Axe campaign when @JenniewithAxe sent me a tweet that said "u should switch to AXE body wash & get a detailer that Cleans Your Balls." Having my allegedly not-clean-enough balls publicly outed on Twitter, while still funny as hell, probably comes a bit closer to crossing a line that should not be crossed.
A different kind of offensive, but offensive nonetheless. The Bottom Line. The success of these campaigns will change the rules of what's "acceptable" when speaking to U.S. audiences (of course, Europeans reading this are probably asking "what's wrong with you prudes?" right now).
No, not on your balls. In your creative department. 
Someecards.com, a site that lets you send hysterical online postcards with painfully honest messages like these:
Of course, this trend toward risqué humor in advertising does pose a problem. What happens when less talented hands try to emulate it? 
These are fine lines. If your target audience consists of guys who hang out in bars, it's great marketing to speak to them they way they speak amongst themselves. But it's not too difficult to envision a future cluttered with low-class and offensive messages fighting for your attention.
The bottom line is that if you're going to be outrageous in your advertising, hire someone who can do it well. Please.
