Lynx (Axe) release ‘Peace’ offering in timely departure from usual sexual ads

By on Thursday, January 16, 2014

Lynx (Axe everywhere outside of the UK) has released a new TV ad for it’s ‘Peace’ spray in time for the Superbowl (February 2nd) – and, well, it’s a massive departure from the brand’s usual overtly sexual and objectifying ‘Lynx/Axe Effect’ efforts.

Whether this timely about-turn is here to stay is anybody’s guess, but the switch will inevitably be favoured, allowing the PR team to breathe a sigh of relief whilst releasing a spot, for once. The ad, which features visual references to war before giving way to a slightly soppier message, could be seen as a way of making ‘peace’ with those offended by the brand’s controversial past.

‘Make Love. Not War’ was uploaded onto the Lynx YouTube channel today and can be seen here:

The ad was uploaded onto Axe’s YouTube channel on the 14th (watch it here, though it’s practically identical to the UK one bar the name and usage of a Superbowl-friendly hashtag). It has had just fewer than 200,000 views at the time of writing.

In this Ad Week piece, David Kolbusz, deputy executive director at the agency behind the ad, BBH London, said it was ‘in some way’ prompted by last year’s Apollo campaign.

“At the end of the Apollo process, I was like, ‘Oh shit, what are we going to do now?’ You hold a global competition to send 23 people to space, then the next year becomes a bit of a daunting task.”

Here’s an extended version of the ad, for completeness:

Involved agency: BBH London

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