Launched in 1983 in France, Axe has become one of the world’s most popular grooming brands. It has been positioned as every guy’s best first move. Cool, adventurous and never dull, Axe has been designed and marketed ‘to keep guys a step ahead in the dating game’. Unilever’s research and development teams work with a panel of ‘expert noses’ to create Axe products and come up with fragrances that not just help men smell good but also to feel their best. The scents, as stated by the company, aren’t just developed in the lab but every aroma is tested on the target audience – real women.
BLAZE TO BRILLIANCE
Now available in more than 90 countries from the Americas to Asia, the brand Axe is built around ads known for their sexual humour and exaggerated scenarios that play into male fantasies. The attention-grabbing ads are famous around the world and have been recognised by the prestigious Cannes Lions Advertising Awards – winning more than 10 of the event’s sought-after accolades.
Every year, a new Axe deodorant fragrance is launched, combining seductive scents with the latest technology. Axe’s wide range of aromatic portfolio includes, Axe- Apollo, Blast, Click, Dark Temptation, Dimension, Googly, Musk, Provoke and Wild Spice.

FAITH FACTOR
The Axe brand is primarily targeted at 15 to 25 year old males. The brand portrays normal yet cool, trendy and confident image to the target segment. The Axe Effect also acts on the confidence levels of the user. The very act of being associated with the brand serves to boost the ego.
ENGAGEMENT THAT ENTHRALS
Axe was launched in India in 1999 with Axe deodorants and has become one of the most popular men deodorants in India. It has a variety of male grooming products such as Axe after shave lotions and Axe body wash.
The ‘Axe Effect’ also has a high-profile on social media. Axe claims to have more than 25 million fans from around the world on a leading social networking website.
Axe, known as Lynx in the UK, Ireland and Australia, also includes shower gels and shampoos with the same seductive scents: Axe Dark Temptation body wash, Instinct body wash and Twist body wash. As a part of a global expansion of the previously men’s-only brand, Unilever launched its first Axe product for women, ‘Axe Anarchy’, in January 2012 in the United Kingdom.
INNOVEDGE
Axe’s award-winning, attention-grabbing ads never fail to push boundaries. The ‘Axe Effect’ is one of the most famous claims in the world, arguing to draw women in hordes to any man who has sprayed himself liberally with the Axe deodorant. The advertisements are very slick and usually feature a normal male but with oodles of self-confidence as an Axe user.
BRAND EQUITY
While everyone would love to be friends with a celebrity, they would still be at a distance or deny a close relationship with a usual geeky guy. Axe bridges this gap effectively and it is for this very reason that Axe continues to be the market leader in its category.