Axe:::Dark Temptation Game

BRAND:Axe
BRAND OWNER :Unilever
CATEGORY :Toiletries/ Cosmetics
REGION :Brazil
DATE;Apr 2008 - Aug 2008

Dark Temptation was a new weapon for Axe that enabled men to improve their seduction game. The aim was to make the man as irresistible to women as chocolate, hence the chocolate undertones to the Axe spray variant.
The overall campaign, including the TV commercial, featured the Chocolate Man – literally a man made out of chocolate who finds himself being chased by women who want to eat him.
Axe created a game, entitled The Dark Temptation Game Saga – where the consumer played the chocolate man, running away from the women who try and take parts of his body. The game brought together content from all the other elements of the campaign.

The models used in the out of home strategy were converted into 3D to become game characters. In order to do well, the player could throw chocolate “fingers” away as traps to distract the women and continue without being attacked. Axe hid special codes on the brand’s blog and in a rich media ad which caused the women in the game to be dressed only in their underwear.
The campaign was supported via posters in cinemas, in a widget with more information about the game, in key gaming magazines as well as in print. During the campaign, the best players were weekly rewarded with kits containing AXE products, game posters, t-shirt, cap and backpacks signed by the artists Will Murai and Guilherme Marconi. The fight for the grand prix lasted 8 weeks. The overall winner won an arcade machine with The Dark Temptation Saga game installed in it, which was delivered to his house, along with an Axe kit.
In four months of campaign, there were more than 2 million unique visitors, with users spending an average of 10 minutes on the site.

The Dark Temptation Saga Game was such a great hit in Brazil that ended up being translated and used in the launching strategy of AXE Dark Temptation in other countries: USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

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Axe Dark Temptation localisation strategy
REGION: EMEA
DATE: Jan 2008 - Nov 2008
MEDIA CHANNEL

Axe’s brand platform is “Gives You The Edge in the Mating Game” – the eternal interplay between guys and girls in the territory of attraction.

Their new fragrance for 2008, Dark Temptation, had to bring this proposition to life locally.
Axe wanted to create a fragrance so good that women would want to eat it.

An ice cream tasting session with women revealed rich chocolate was the flavour women wanted most. Axe translated it to a fragrance, Dark Temptation, and set out to inform guys of its 'effects' – the insight being guys want to be as irresistible as chocolate! From the brief, the 'Irresistible as Chocolate' platform was born and developed into core advertising – a chocolate man who represented this idea

In digitally advanced France 200,000 guys received “chocolate nibbles & licks” from girls on social networking site Skyrock. While real life 'Chocolate Guys' caused a stir in youth ‘energy centres. Less developed Romania wrapped huge Axe posters in foil and gradually peeled back daily to reveal Dark Temptation, reflecting in-store work. Belgium surfed a national obsession, creating luxury chocolate love tokens to pass on. Pulling professionals challenged UK guys to test their pick-up power armed only with a bar of chocolate, released as virals. Markets shared ideas for sexy local celebrity ‘chocolate ambassadors’- tempting guys with the 'effect' chocolate had on them providing huge PR on chocolate as an aphrodisiac. Portugal tempted guys in confectionary aisles to seize the moment, buy chocolate, seduce girls, and win a visit to the Chocolate Pleasure Mansion.
Dark Temptation was the fourth most successful launch in Axe’s 25 year history, and surpassed all major global and European sales goals. After only six months, it was among the top 20 global deodorant launches ever, across all brands.