Getting The Axe?

As the WGA writers strike heads into week three, but with the promising news that talks are scheduled to resume, some frivolous food for thought fun.



Axe.

Men's body spray.

First launched in France in 1983 by Fabergé which was part of Unilever, it was created as a male version of one of Unilever's other brands, Impulse, which was a fragranced deodorant bodyspray for women that promised wearers male attention. Although Axe (apparently called Lynx in the UK? um...marketing guys...pick one) launched as a deodorant bodyspray, it soon moved into the broader male grooming category by launching successful anti-perspirants, aftershaves and shower gels, as well as less successful shampoos, razors, and skin care products.

Consistently targeted at the male 18-24 age group, all products promise in one form or another to give guys the edge in the mating game.

"Boom Chicka Wah Wah"

Has there been a more annoying ad campaign this year? But subtle Axe is not, in ad after ad after ad. And by most accounts, the overall overtness seems to be working.

This USA Today article from earlier this year touts some pretty impressive sales numbers for Axe and it's products, and predicts them to only keep rising. And Ad Age had this to say:

The brand has risen remarkably with edgy creative and a marketing message to unleash your inner animal magnetism in a category where efficacy is normally the selling point. Axe has climbed the category by turning its back on other traditional tenets, eschewing sports tie-ins and programming; using online and content integration plays; and defining its competitive set not as deodorants but as PlayStation and Nike.

Now I for one can't imagine anyone falling for the hype, but what do I know...and I'm old.

So a question for any younger men in the house...does it work?

But more importantly, to the ladies in the house...does it work?