Title | AXEINATION |
Brand | UNILEVER |
Product/Service | AXE |
Category |
G04. Social Behaviour |
Entrant
|
LOLA MULLENLOWE Madrid, SPAIN
|
Idea Creation
|
LOLA MULLENLOWE Madrid, SPAIN
|
Credits
Caroline Gregory |
UNILEVER |
Global Brand Director, Unilever |
Jamie Brooks |
UNILEVER |
Global Brand Manager |
Tomas Ostiglia |
LOLA-MullenLowe |
Executive Creative Director |
Federico Duberti |
IPG Global Team |
Global Business Leader, IPG |
Gerard Crichlow |
IPG Global Team |
Global Strategy Director, IPG |
Tom Elliston |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Managing Director |
Jorge Zacher |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Creative Director |
Kevin Cabuli |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Creative Director |
Manuel Castillo |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Creative Supervisor |
Enrique Torguet |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Creative Supervisor |
Oscar Fernandez-Baca |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Global Account Director |
Ezequiel Scarpini |
LOLA-MullenLowe |
Art Director |
Lucas Rodriguez |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Head of Planning |
Felipe Calviño |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Head of Production |
Kiki Holshuijsen |
Lola-MullenLowe |
Copywriter |
Kristen Cavallo |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
Chief Executive Officer |
Danny Robinson |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
Chief Creative Officer |
Ashley Marshall |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
SVP, Executive Creative Director |
Mik Manulik |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
VP, Creative Director |
Tasha Dean |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
EVP, Head of Production |
Brett Alexander |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
SVP, Executive Producer |
Evan Frank |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
Producer |
Jaclyn Ruelle |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
SVP, Managing Director, Cultural Impact Lab |
Keith Gordon |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
Cultural Impact Manager |
Taylor Wiegert |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
VP, Planning Director |
Stuart Hayhurst |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
Strategic Planner |
Gillian Merrill |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
VP, Group Account Director |
Samad Hussain |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
Account Supervisor |
Natalie Meyer |
IPG Creative Agency: The Martin Agency |
Senior Project Manager |
LEE Films |
LEE Films |
Video Production Company |
Ángel Recio |
LEE Films |
Executive Producer |
Iván Fernandez |
LEE Films |
Executive Producer |
Irma Borrell |
LEE Films |
Producer |
Chalo Bonifacio Cooke |
LEE Films |
Producer |
Agustín Berruezo |
LEE Films |
Director |
Charlie Gómez |
LEE Films |
DOP |
The Lobby |
The Lobby |
Sound |
Big Sync Music |
Big Sync |
Music |
Raquel Torres |
Post Pro |
Post Pro |
The Experiential Group |
The Experiential Group |
Experiential Production Company |
Frank Moran |
The Experiential Group |
Founder, Managing Director |
Janna Ferner-Bell |
The Experiential Group |
Director of Production |
Adam Daniel Weiss |
The Experiential Group |
Project Manager |
Edelman Edelman |
Edelman |
PR Agency |
Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?
“Get Axeinated” deserves to be awarded because it takes advantage of a trend among young people to join in with a product and brand proposal in a relevant context for both Axe and its consumers. The campaign manages to treat a sensitive topic with humor and continues building the territory of attraction for the brand.
At the same time, it plays a social role in helping more young people trust vaccination campaigns, especially where there is more reluctance from their side. All that, by reinforcing the product benefit in a way that only Axe could.
Background
In the middle of the vaccination debate in the United States, we noticed that young people were using the hashtag #vaccinated on their Tinder profiles and other dating apps to get an edge. But being vaccinated is not enough to get back in the ring, you also must smell good. That's why we launched “Get vaccinated, then Axeinated”.
The goal was to be part of the conversation in a pandemic context and to be able to continue building the territory of attraction for the brand. With the humorous and close tone that represents the brand, “Get Axeinated” puts the theme of attraction back on the table, giving visibility to one of the concerns of its target audience.
Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)
The campaign sought to motivate young people to make the decision to get vaccinated. At a time when fake news flooded social networks and generated mistrust, Axe supported the vaccination campaigns promoted by the WHO and the United States government. Always being faithful to the identity of the brand.
We deliver a parody of the PSA campaigns people were seeing everywhere. But being vaccinated is not enough to get back in the ring, you also must smell good. That's why we launched “Get vaccinated, then Axeinated”.
Describe the strategy (20% of vote)
The campaign sought to motivate young people to make the decision to get vaccinated. At a time when fake news flooded social networks and generated mistrust, Axe supported the vaccination campaigns promoted by the WHO and the United States government. Always being faithful to the identity of the brand.
We invite Gen Z youth and Millennials to get vaccinated and then “axeinated” to get back in touch with all the safety measures. The campaign began with an official statement from Axe and the chance to order “Axeination kits” on a website for free. In addition, we installed an “Axeination Center” next to a vaccination center in Atlanta, the city with the lowest percentage of vaccinated youth in the country.
Describe the execution (30% of vote)
First, we launched an official Axe statement inviting young people to get vaccinated and then get axeinated. With a strong investment in television and digital media, this message reached the entire country. We created “Axeination kits” and young people could request them on our website and receive them at home for free with an official “axeination” certificate. In 24 hours, they sold out twice.
The general response was very positive. That's why we doubled down and installed an “Axeination Center” next to a vaccination center in Atlanta, Georgia, the city with the lowest percentage of vaccinated youth in the US. The activation featured in every major news network, including CNN, CBS, FOX, NBC.
List the results (30% of vote)
This campaign managed to once again put Axe at the center of the conversation. The most important media in the country echoed this campaign, generating an earned media of 4.4 million dollars. Additionally, the campaign had a total of 456 million global impressions.
The kits available in the online store were sold out twice in 24 hours, resulting in more than 10,000 men being killed. And while we don't know the exact number of “swipes right,” we do know that millions of young Americans were able to get close again with ALL the security measures.
The overall result of the campaign was so positive that it is being replicated in other markets around the world. Very soon, everyone will have an “Axeination Center” in their country.
Please tell us about the social behaviour that inspired the work
Nearly 80% of vaccine-hesitant Americans won’t get the shot.
In the middle of the vaccination debate, Axe discovered an unusual behavior: young people were using the hashtag #vaccinated on their dating app profiles, which gave them more chances to get a match. This phenomenon gave birth to a social media movement called #hotvaxxsummer.
But, as we know, being vaccinated was not enough to get close again, you also have to smell good. So, while vaccination campaigns in the US were targeting our target audience (Gen Z and Millennials), we decided to support this initiative by launching “Get vaccinated, then axeinated”.