ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today AXE introduces AXE Peace, both a new line of products and a ground-breaking campaign to bring young people together to affect change with a simple, yet powerful, act: a kiss.
The showpiece of the campaign is a 60-second film and a 30-second commercial titled “Love,” which will premiere nationally on Sunday, Feb. 2 during Super Bowl XLVIII. The spot, created by BBH London and directed by Rupert Sanders, is a collection of global vignettes that cinematically depict the campaign’s theme of “make love, not war” and includes an inspirational call to action: #KissForPeace. The 60-second film debuts online starting today and is live on YouTube.com/AXE.
“Young people care deeply about the future,” said Matthew McCarthy, Senior Director, AXE & Men's Grooming for Unilever. “This generation is socially conscious and more digitally connected than ever. AXE is tapping into this to start a conversation, inspire people to unite globally, and raise awareness about the power of peace in a way only AXE can do – with a #KissForPeace. In a world filled with conflict, we know sometimes the most powerful weapon is love. And as the film dramatizes, for one sublime moment a kiss has the power to make the world a more united and peaceful place.”
According to a recent survey commissioned by AXE, 90 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. believe it’s important to give back to their communities, yet 87 percent of them said that time and money constraints prevent them from giving back.* AXE is providing a simple way to help guys and girls spread awareness for peace worldwide by asking them to take a photo of a kiss, tag it with #KissForPeace, and share it online via their social networks. These demonstrations of love will be displayed to hundreds of thousands of people daily via a Times Square Billboard from Jan. 27- Feb. 9, featured at AXEPeace.com starting on Feb. 10 and seen by friends and loved ones via social media for the duration of the campaign.
The AXE Peace fragrance, developed by renowned fragrance expert Ann Gottlieb, combines notes of fresh citrus, nutmeg and cedar wood, and provides guys with an intriguing, warm and masculine scent. In a first for the brand, AXE is introducing the AXE Peace collection across all of the brand’s grooming product categories: body spray, deodorant and antiperspirant sticks, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, hair styling, face wash and shave gel.
AXE is also teaming up with Peace One Day - an international non-profit that drives awareness of world peace - with campaigns in 50 countries set to advance Peace One Day’s goal of peace-building and awareness of Peace Day (Sept. 21), an annual day of non-violence and ceasefire officially recognized by the United Nations member states. The partnership between AXE and Peace One Day will generate unprecedented awareness of Peace Day. In the U.S., AXE will generate exposure and awareness on behalf of Peace One Day through its social network of millions of fans, presence at major lifestyle events, and through online, print and TV advertising, including the TV spot that will air during the Super Bowl, the second consecutive year the brand is appearing in the telecast, expected to reach 164 million viewers.
“Our partnership with AXE will inspire an astounding number of young people, and help them realize that they have a key role to play in the creation of a more peaceful and sustainable world. Awareness inspires action, and action creates change,” said Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace One Day. “We're honored that a brand like AXE, which reaches millions of people each year, is supporting us to inspire and empower a new generation of peacemakers.”
For more information, please visit AXEPeace.com and follow AXE on Facebook and Twitter.
About AXE®
AXE®, a leader in men’s care, is an iconic personal care brand around the world that helps guys look, smell and feel their best. The Unilever-manufactured brand is available in a line of bodysprays, deodorant and anti-perspirant sticks, shower gels, hair and face care products. AXE® is the No. 1 men’s fragrance in the U.S.** and globally***. AXE® is also the No. 1 grooming brand, excluding shaving hardware**, and achieved this status only seven years after launch. Including bodysprays, AXE® is the largest men’s deodorant brand in the U.S.
The brand’s mission is to help guys get the girl with grooming products that reflect individual personality and lifestyle. For more information, visit www.theaxeeffect.com.
*Based on a survey conducted by Kelton, a leading global insights company, on behalf of AXE sampling 1,000 Nationally Representative Americans ages 18-24
**Based on volume of men’s grooming products sold (excluding shaving hardware): Total US Market for Men’s Grooming Products 52 weeks ending November 23, 2013
***Source Euromonitor International Limited; Men’s deodorants, men’s mass &premium fragrance retail value sales combined, 2012; Lynx includes all AXE/Lynx/Ego sales
About Unilever United States, Inc.
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries. Our products are present in 7 out of 10 homes globally and are used by over 2 billion people on a daily basis. In the United States and Canada the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Fruttare, Good Humor, Hellmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Magnum, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond’s, Popsicle, Promise, Q-tips, Ragu, Simple, Slim-Fast, St. Ives, Suave, TIGI, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.
Our ambition is to double the size of our business, whilst reducing our overall environmental footprint (including sourcing, consumer use and disposal) and increasing our positive social impact. We are committed to helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being, sourcing all our agricultural raw materials sustainably by 2020, and decoupling our growth from our environmental impact. Supporting our three big goals are more than 50 time-based targets. See more on the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan at http://www.unileverusa.com/sustainable-living/ or http://www.unilever.ca/sustainable-living/.
Unilever employs more than 12,000 people across North America – generating over $10 billion in sales in 2012. For more information visit www.unileverusa.com or www.unilever.ca.
About Peace One Day
Founded in 1999 by filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, the non-profit organisation Peace One Day drove the initiative that led to the unanimous adoption by the United Nations member states of an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on 21 September – Peace Day.
With the day in place, Peace One Day’s objective is to institutionalise Peace Day around the world, making it self- sustaining. A report supported by Mckinsey and Company estimated that 280 million people were aware of Peace Day 2012, with approximately 5.6 million people behaving more peacefully as a result. These figures were expected to double in 2013.
Not only has Peace Day been proved as a catalyst for broad-ranging civil society action by individuals and groups in every country of the world, but also for life-saving activities: notably, in 2007, Jeremy Gilley, his film crew and Peace One Day Ambassador Jude Law travelled to Afghanistan to help develop and document preparations for life-saving activities across the country for Peace Day. As a result of this work, since 2007, Peace Day agreements by all parties to conflict in the region have resulted in the immunisation against polio of 4.5 million children in areas hitherto unreachable or hard to reach due to conflict. The United Nations Department for Safety and Security, which monitors security related incidents, recorded a 70% reduction in violent incidents on Peace Day 2008 in Afghanistan.
Peace One Day has launched a series of Peace Day coalitions and runs a number of campaigns to further awareness and engagement on Peace Day. For more information visit www.peaceoneday.org.
