Okay, I admit it. I have a love/hate relationship with Axe (Unilever). On the one hand, Axe ads make me feel icky. Most of them are tasteless and sexist. I am not so humorless that I don't emit an occasional chuckle, but I delude myself into thinking that we live in a world with a bit more sophistication. As a marketer, however, I have to admire Axe's strategy - even if it is unabashedly "hey use this stuff and women will f*@k you!". The ads are clever, edgy, and many of them are funny. The sales results speak for themselves; in a relatively short amount of time Axe (or Lynx as it is known in some countries) sexed its way to the top of the product category against some very well-established brands in global markets.
Old news, right? Well, on Thursday I read this article in AdAge about a laughable scientific study that supposedly proves the Axe Effect and it brought all those conflicted feelings back again. The Lynx control group reported a slight increase in self confidence, which in the eyes of Unilever's consumer scientist supports the case that Axe gives guys the confidence they need to attract their mate (or one night stand?). Let's just hope these guys don't take the commercial spots TOO literally. The only thing worse than a stinky man is an over-cologned one. Just a spritz will do, boys.
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