The most expensive AXE deodorant is priced at € 25,000

Good deodorant is worth its weight in gold. That is the message of AXE Gold, a stylish, masculine scent in an elegant black-and-gold aerosol dispenser. AXE Nederland consulted Glasnost about ways to present this new spicy-yet-sweet fragrance to its target audience: young men with a taste for luxury items and a ditto lifestyle.

Objectives

• Generate media attention for the launch of the new product line
• Produce a PR campaign that will create buzz among young men with a luxury lifestyle
• Prompt the target audience to try out the new product line

Strategy

A product launch alone will not generate free publicity. To make the message (one of the M’s in our 3M-model) more newsworthy and generate the desired free publicity, AXE Nederland fashioned a unique and valuable prize-product for a national sweepstake: a 14-karat gold aerosol. The purchase of an AXE Gold product at drugstore Kruidvat ensured entry into the sweepstake for the € 25,000 deodorant–the most expensive sweat-stopper in the world. What better way to entice the target audience to try the new product line? The M for Moment (the second M from the 3M-model) was a strategic choice: the product line was launched on April 1 st. The resulting buzz was partly caused by uncertainty: was this an April Fool’s Day prank or was AXE Nederland really giving away a 14-karat gold aerosol? Glasnost used a promotional video and Native Advertising to generate widespread media attention for both the product line and the sweepstake (M for Means).

Execution

To promote this special-edition deodorant as well as the sweepstake, Glasnost engaged the regular voice-over artist for Kruidvat commercials, Hadewych Minis, and created a playful video. To link the product line to luxury, masculinity and gold, a young man is shown to spray on AXE Gold while in a Kruidvat store and then miraculously end up in a hip hop music video. The video was produced by Framez Productions, responsible for music videos for Ronnie Flex, Bizzey and Lil’ Kleine. Glasnost further enhanced the hip hop vibe by commissioning online hip hop and entertainment magazine Parra.nu to publish two native articles: one mentioning the news about the most expensive deodorant in the world and showing the video; the other containing an interview with the winner of the golden aerosol. Glasnost distributed a press release to specialist media outlets, while the video was shared on AXE Nederland’s social media channels, enabling direct communication between the brand and the target audience.

Results

The 482,000 times the video was played and the 240 comments were testimony to the enthusiasm of the target audience and made this the most-watched post on AXE Nederland. The commotion caused was huge, extensive tagging on social media ensued and the AXE-sponsored bus shelter containing a replica of the golden aerosol was even forced open. The timing of the campaign to coincide with April Fool’s Day caused confusion among both media and consumers. This created extra press coverage with reports saying that the new deodorant was, in fact, for sale and that the sweepstake was not a hoax.