AXE advertisements are well known for making men actractive to women. They are sexual advertisements in which the main message for men is: use Axe and women will like you. Seems simple? yes, sex sells.
A little story
From 2003, Axe advertisements showed how the AXE products supposedly helped men attract women. In 2004, the advertising in the UK for the Pulse fragrance showed how it gave geeky men the confidence to dance and get women. In 2005, Consumer Expert Dr. Vince Wong, CEO of Insights Interactive, was hired to help explore cross cultural behavioral motivations of their young male adult consumers. This helped towards the development of the brand globally, resulting in award winning global communication campaigns. This was followed by Touch, Unlimited, Clix, and in 2007, Vice was marketed on a theme of making “nice” women become “naughty”. Dating coach Josh Pellicer (The Tao Of Badass) served as a consultant for the advertisements.
The twist
Due to the many years of sexual advertising from AXE, the latest ad was a big surprise due to the twist in it’s message: from sexual to love and peace.
“If it’s surprising, it’s designed to be surprising,” says Matthew McCarthy, Axe’s senior marketing director. “That’s one of the ways that we’ve found over the years is the best way to present an idea.”
McCarthy also revealed that AXE often visits college campuses and talks to students to discover what topics and themes will captivate their main customers. Right now, McCarthy says, those topics are peace and harmony.
“The idea of making the world a more peaceful place is a pretty universal idea. Young people are saying, ‘Hey, this world’s pretty soon going to be my world and I’m going to be even more responsible for it.’”
The advertisement, which was developed by British advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, begins with classic wartime images. A tank rolls through a devastated European city, an Asian dictator and a Middle Eastern ruler picks up a nuclear device. Halfway through, the story is turned on its head as each invader is revealed to actually be making a loving gesture toward a woman. If the typical Axe ad operates on the assumption that sex sells, this one attempts to prove that romance does.
The ad, which was shot in Bangkok, Thailand over 5 days, has become viral. It’s has almost 3.5 million views on YouTube and will be emitted during the Super bowl. The promotional campaign also has a #KissForPeace Twitter hashtag, through which users can upload photos of themselves kissing to Axe.The best photos will be displayed in a massive screen in Times Square on Valentines day.
M for Marketing 