Axe is one of the world’s coolest and most popular male grooming brands. To keep things FRESH, every year a new Axe deodorant fragrance is launched.

And the new scent and the buzz around it have to be BIGGER, BADDER and SEXIER than before.

There was a supernova-sized pressure on the Axe collaborative team to give 2013’s new variant a particularly out-of-this-world idea.

XPLORATION

Business objectives• Make AXE Apollo one of the top 3 AXE variants in terms of sales and contribute at least 15% in total AXE sales during the campaign • Increase brand sales by at least 8% during the campaign

AXE was launching its new body spray ‘Apollo’ into a category already saturated with strong competition

AXE knew that in order to grab attention and ensure success of the Apollo launch it needed to do something big

HOW TO MAKE NEW AXE’S VARIANT – AXE APOLLO BECOME BIGGER THAN BEFORE?

THE CONTEXT THE CHALLENGE

Communication objectives • Create maximum awareness for AXE Apollo • Perpetuate AXE perception as a cool and trendy brand• Build maximum awareness for campaign using tri-media that would generate at least US$1.7 million worth of media values.

OBJECTIVES

X-PRESSLists Knowledge & Unknowledge

- Young males always want to try new experience

- Young males always want to smell good when meeting girls

- Sometimes, young males want to do extraordinary things to get attention from others, especially to attract girls

- Women’s uncontrollable attraction for brave, modern-day heroes

XPLORE * TargetThe male 13-24 year oldWho are mostly young males who are single and active. They are mostly not concerned with hygiene.

XPLORATION

CATEGORY TRUTH

Fragrance is a seduction weapon in attracting girls

BRAND TRUTHGive men AN EDGE

in the mating game

CONSUMER TRUTH

As a young male, I always want to do

extraordinary things to show my heroism as a greatest way to

attract girls

CONSUMER INSIGHT

Do extraordinary things as the greatest way edge help me attract

girls but it is really hard for ordinary person like me to do these

Inspired by the idea of coming back from space a hero, AXE can creatthe ‘bolt’ to represent the re-entry of a ship into the earth’s atmosphere.

IDEATION DEVELOPMENT

Solo brain writing

Attribute listing

Word association

chain

Pool brain writing

What if Other

worlds Random

word Reversal

Campaign IdeaLEAVE A MAN – COME BACK A HERO

MassageNothing beats an astronaut

EVALUATION

DARE YOU…?Dare young males to join in

DANGEROUS GAMES to show their bravery as an edge to

attract girls

SPACE? Axe Apollo was the big bang

idea that captured the heroism and excitement of space travel.

There’s nothing cooler.

EXTRAORDINARY THINGS???

DARE YOU…?

SPACE?

Why it work?- Doable: Can generate a lot of creative ideas for execution from this- Deep: Comes from an insightful of young males- Combine business objectives and communication objectives

Organize dangerous games to challenge males and attract attention of a lot of people in the world

ACTIONTo support sending 22 aspiring astroboys from around the world to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, as part of Axe’s Apollo Space Academy program in December 2013.

It was a proud day for Elmwood to see Buzz Aldrin launching the brand with the Space Academy campaign, along with buzz-making videos and commercials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=70&v=14aJSQ9FHQM

AXE APOLLO - FIREMAN“

AXE APOLLO - "LIFEGUARD"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=66&v=PXLuofSRL9w

AXE APOLLO VALENTINE GIFT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=45&v=rPE80q40HZs