Business, in particular marketing often celebrates thinking outside of the box. I’m sure marketers everywhere (except maybe at Old Spice) will be delighted then to see that Axe is now thinking outside of the stratosphere. Axe’s “biggest promotional program in the three-decade history of the brand” involves a contest open to 60 countries, in which 22 winners will be rocketed into space Click here for article.There are a number of things you have to love about this. The first is that although it’s somewhat reminiscent of Red Bull’s parachute jump with Felix Baumgartner, it’s certainly refreshing enough to excite consumers. People often discredit marketing campaigns for imitating others – but this mindset needs rethinking. Extending Eric Falkenstein’s idea to marketing – “we are fundamentally an imitating species”. Just because Red Bull had a similar campaign does not mean that consumers (myself included) won’t be ecstatic at the possibility of visiting space.

The second positive is how well they have positioned the promotion in relation to their target market. The young male, already exuberant about the social possibilities that Axe offers, now has the means to make this possibility a reality (sort of).

For young males – imagine walking into a social environment and declaring you have just returned from space. Regardless of the fact that anyone’s chances of being selected are virtually none, the promotion does its job in getting young males to at least imagine. This promotion is a continuation of Axe’s goal to associate its products with imagination, possibility, and social success for young males around the world. Expensive or not, the campaign is worth it in the long-run just for that.