Some time ago, I posted the email I sent to the makers of Axe Anti-Perspirant, congratulating them on having the courage to portray their users as hairy torsos lacking heads, arms or genitalia. To date, Axe has yet to answer my email.

However, Axe's edgy ad strategy seems to be paying off. Several people have wandered to my site, thanks to links from Ad Rag and Nerve.com; one person, jo-anne, has been kind enough to point out that "Pitman" (as I've since found out he's called) is actually a hairy armpit lacking a head, arms and genitalia, rather than a hairy torso. Thanks, jo-anne; that key bit of information certainly casts the ad in question in a whole new light, does it not?

Best of all, those trailblazers at Axe know when they've got a good thing going: they've officially launched a "Pitman" portion of their web site, complete with a contest that gives you the chance to "help Pitman manage his lady friends."

Genius. Pure genius.