ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN
Since its introduction in the United States in 2002, Axe, the body spray and grooming brand by Unilever, has been pitched squarely at young men, with commercials depicting women getting a whiff of Axe users and then aggressively pursuing them.
But now, Axe is introducing a fragrance for women. The new scent, Anarchy, is being marketed in different versions for men and women. As its name portends, a new commercial depicts a scene of mayhem, with a chain of events including a car pileup. During the spot, strangers lock eyes and, oblivious to the commotion, walk hungrily toward one another, then freeze at about an arm?s length, nostrils flaring and chests heaving, not breaking the sexual tension with contact.
?Unleash the chaos,? says screen text at the close of the commercial, as a young man and woman spray their torsos. ?New Axe Anarchy for him and for her.?
The campaign, which includes print and online ads, is by the London office of Bartle Bogle Hegarty. The first of two commercials appears on Axe?s Facebook page, and both are scheduled to begin running widely on television in the United States Jan. 29, and afterward in more than 60 other countries. (A teaser commercial that did not specifically mention the women?s product began running online and in movie theaters on Jan. 1.)
Axe also will introduce a branded serialized graphic novel on YouTube and Facebook in a partnership with the publisher Aspen Comics. New sequences will be uploaded every few days, with plot turns based partly on consumers? suggestions and votes, and with some fans being depicted in the comic.
Axe, which declined to disclose the cost of the campaign, spent $92.5 million on domestic advertising in 2010, and $42.8 million in the first nine months of 2011, according to Kantar Media, which is owned by WPP.
In another new commercial, a female police officer chases a male robber on foot, both tossing off layers of clothing in the heat of the chase. It ends with them facing each other, the robber having shed his stolen goods and the officer her gun, then walking toward each other to embrace in the middle of the screen. The new commercials are about ?subverting expectations of what an Axe commercial is,? said David Kolbusz, a creative director at Bartle Bogle Hegarty in London. ?Before, an Axe commercial was always about a guy spraying himself and a girl being attracted, and Axe giving him an edge in the mating game, whereas now women also have something to spray on themselves, and consequently there?s more of an equilibrium between the sexes.?
Of Axe?s 2.3 million ?likes? on Facebook, about a quarter are by women, according to Barret Roberts, the senior brand manager at Axe. ?We?ve been hearing for some time that females have been asking for and looking for their very own scent of Axe,? said Mr. Roberts.
Axe dominates the men?s body spray category, with a 74 percent share of the market, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a market research firm. While only about 17 percent of American men use body spray ? 65 percent use aftershave and 62 percent use cologne ? it is most popular among those ages 18 to 24, with 28 percent using it, according to Mintel, the market research firm. (While Axe reports that it pitches Axe primarily to men 18 to 24, the brand also is popular among adolescent boys, but Mintel does not track usage for those under 18.)
As for women, 47 percent use body spray, second to body lotion with fragrance, which is used by 59 percent, but more popular than eau de parfum (43 percent) or eau de toilette (34 percent).
For Axe Anarchy, the women?s body spray is being released in what Unilever calls a limited edition, with it possibly being offered permanently based on sales. On the men?s side only, in addition to the body spray, Anarchy also will be available as a deodorant, antiperspirant, shower gel and shampoo.