Lynx / Axe: Sweeter Than The Sweetest
Lynx tasked LOLA MullenLowe Madrid with launching their Fine Fragrance Collection to a Gen Z audience. The brand needed to pivot away from historical seduction tropes toward a more modern, humorous positioning. They wanted to highlight new gourmand scents, making sweetness feel relevant and masculine for young men who prioritize smelling good for themselves.
Creative Idea
Traditionally sweet icons become violently jealous of a man wearing an even sweeter fragrance.
To promote its new sweet fragrances, Lynx dramatized the power of sweetness through absurdist films where traditionally sweet icons - like teddy bears - become violently jealous of a man's superior scent, subverting soft gourmand notes into a primal force.
When Sweetness Triggers a Primal Fistfight
The Absurdist Vision of Lionel Goldstein
To achieve the campaign's signature "melancholic humor," LOLA MullenLowe partnered with the Belgian directing duo Lionel Goldstein (Joe Vanhoutteghem and Koen Mortier). Known for grounding ridiculous premises in high-end, near-documentary cinematography, the directors leaned into "weirdcore" aesthetics to subvert traditional masculinity. In the "Dog" spot, the unsettlingly realistic pet named Churchill was brought to life through a meticulous blend of animal coaching and seamless animatronics. Meanwhile, the "Baby" and "Bear" spots utilized a romantic Japanese ballad - sourced via Big Sync Music - to create a jarring, "cringe-comedy" contrast against the onscreen violence.
Smelling Like a Snack
The creative pivot was fueled by data showing that 50% of Gen Z consumers were trending toward "gourmand" scents like vanilla and berry. By rebranding sweetness as a force so potent it triggers physical confrontation, the campaign successfully moved AXE away from its historical seduction tropes. The strategy paid off: the #SmellLikeASnack hashtag generated over 69 million views on TikTok. According to Unilever, the shift in tone resonated deeply with the target audience, with 80% of consumers reporting they were more likely to purchase from the brand following the launch.
Global Sales and Market Dominance
The rollout across the UK, Mexico, Argentina, and the US saw immediate commercial success. The *Axe Cherry Spritz* variant rapidly climbed the charts to become one of the top three bestsellers in the Fine Fragrance Collection across major global markets. As Global Brand Director Caroline Gregory noted, the new range gave the team license to push the brand into "unexpected territory," proving that "pure, absurdist discomfort" could drive massive retail growth.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
A legacy grooming brand with a reputation for outdated, hyper-masculine seduction tropes looking to modernize its image.
Category
Fragrance ads usually rely on suave models and romantic settings to sell scents through predictable attraction narratives.
Customer
Gen Z men who value humor and smelling like a snack over traditional, serious notions of masculinity.
Culture
The weirdcore aesthetic and absurdist humor prevalent in digital culture where discomfort is a primary form of engagement.
Company
A legacy grooming brand with a reputation for outdated, hyper-masculine seduction tropes looking to modernize its image.
Category
Fragrance ads usually rely on suave models and romantic settings to sell scents through predictable attraction narratives.
Strategy:
Subvert traditional product attributes into aggressive primal forces to redefine soft traits as powerful and desirable.
Customer
Gen Z men who value humor and smelling like a snack over traditional, serious notions of masculinity.
Culture
The weirdcore aesthetic and absurdist humor prevalent in digital culture where discomfort is a primary form of engagement.
Strategy:
Subvert traditional product attributes into aggressive primal forces to redefine soft traits as powerful and desirable.
Strategy Technique
Use Absurd Logic
It takes the literal sweetness of the product to an irrational extreme, suggesting the scent is so potent it threatens the status of other sweet things, triggering physical confrontation.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Embrace the Weird
The campaign uses practical effects and near-documentary absurdism to create surreal violence from inanimate objects, delivering a memorable, cringe-comedy experience that stands out from traditional, suave fragrance advertising.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign excels through its unexpected comedic pivot and high-energy physical comedy, elevated by strong production design and stunt coordination.
The meticulously crafted, 'hyper-cute' bedroom filled with oversized bears creates the perfect ironic backdrop for the violent brawl.
The lead actor's physical performance during the fight and his bewildered expression at the end sell the humor effectively.
The contrast between the soft, romantic art direction and the aggressive physical comedy creates the ad's memorable impact.
