The Axe Effect
The Launch of Axe Deodorant in Japan
For more Axe commercials, see below. Also, three more ads can be found here.
One of the downsides of living in Japan for me has been the unavailability of good deodorant, particularly during the extremely humid summer months when temperatures soar to around 35c. The handful of Japanese deodorants that are available - such as those in Mandom’s Gatsby range, if the word ‘range’ can actually be used for such a limited selection - are a waste of time, being little more than lightly-scented air. Because of this, I’ve had to resort to stocking up on large quantities of deodorant when on overseas trips, something which has in the past resulted in some alarmed looks on the faces of shop clerks when I’ve done this during winter.
Quite why Japanese deodorants are so bad is something of a mystery. I think deodorant use is less common in Asian countries than western ones anyway, but perhaps the reason for Japan’s lack of good deodorant lies more in the emphasis on conformity in Japanese culture: as the saying goes, ‘the nail that sticks out will be hammered down’, and this can be applied to the expression of individuality that wearing a fragrance constitutes. Indeed, it’s rare to smell aftershave (and to a lesser extent perfume) worn by anyone here. Unfortunately though, this sometimes results in people inadvertently expressing their individuality by having appalling B.O.…
All of this may be set to change following the March launch of Axe deodorant in Japan. The deodorant - known as Lynx in Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, but called Axe in the rest of the world - has the marketing might of consumer products giant Unilever behind it and was accordingly launched here with a flurry of TV advertising. This included the hugely popular ‘Billions’ advert Unilever has used in other countries (check it out on the official Japanese Axe website or on YouTube), a TV commercial made exclusively for the Japanese market, and some Japanese viral videos, all of which depict the ‘Axe effect’ - the product’s supposed ability to attract females to the man wearing it.
The Japanese TV commercial is slick. It features a man and a woman in a restaurant, a CGI battle taking place between his and her soldiers with the man’s soldiers using Axe as their secret weapon. Conversely, the viral videos adopt the cinéma vérité style favored by viral video marketers, which gives the impression of having been filmed by someone with their cellphone camera. Four of these videos can currently be found on YouTube: One where a male snowboarder attempts to escape from a horde of female skiers chasing him by getting on a ski lift, only for his pursuers to pile onto the lift with him until there are several women hanging off it (it features a warning not to attempt this yourself at the end); one where a schoolboy is mobbed by schoolgirls during a rajio taiso exercise session; one at a temple where three women are distracted from their prayer, much to the chagrin of the priest supervising them; and one where a school teacher is mobbed by Junior High School girls (presumably the ad targets teenage boys, although since perving on schoolgirls is enjoyed by men of all ages in Japan it may well be aimed at an older market segment).
Whether this advertising is successful and wearing deodorant takes off in Japan remains to be seen. On the one hand, as a Time Magazine article explained, metrosexual Asian men are now spending more money than ever before on male grooming products. On the other hand though, conformity is deeply-rooted in the culture, as was seen with former Prime Minister Koizumi’s failed ‘Cool Biz’ attempts to get the nation’s salarymen to go to work in short-sleeved shirts minus their ties. It may well be the case that stifling conformity prevents Axe from making the stifling heat of summer more bearable for Japanese men.
Restaurant Battlefield
Mobbed By Schoolgirls