Axe 'Ratios' Bleu de Chanel Following a Blind Scent Test

According to Axe, a blind scent test has found that 73 percent of guys prefer their favorite Axe Fine Fragrance scent over Bleu de Chanel. Thus triumphant, The Martin Agency has created what it’s christened the “first-ever real-life ratio” to celebrate the collection’s launch.

“Ratioing” refers to a social-media reply, on Twitter for example, that earns more likes than the original post. I guess in a previous life we would call this getting pwned. The fact that a clap back is better-liked than the post implies that the original is more disliked than liked.

By this logic, Bleu de Chanel is the original post—in the sense that it’s a marquee fragrance?—and Axe is the wildfire clap back out of nowhere. The latter is best remembered by us as a supermarket spray-on deodorant that made its name in the pre-toxic masculinity days, with ads that implied wearing it would cause women to insatiably pursue you. 

Whenever we think of that, we’re reminded of Patrick Süskind’s Perfume, where the main character makes a perfume so potent that it causes people to obsess over him. In the end, they end up tearing him to shreds and eating him out of love. Sort of like Orpheus and the Maenads. LOL! 

Anyway, to make the most of these test results, Axe mounted a massive 3D billboard takeover in New York City’s Times Square. It’s also taking its ratio game to the internet, promising that a quick Google of “bleu de chanel” will yield an Axe ad. (It didn’t work for us.)

“Gen-Z guys look at premium as a feeling, not a price point,” says Caroline Gregory, Axe’s global brand director. “Fragrance is the number one driver of confidence, and we don’t think you should be paying $100 plus to feel that. That’s why we’re taking on the fine fragrance industry with the world’s first ‘ratio challenge,’ taking our guys’ favorite digital roast to the real world.”

The brand also created a ratio filter on TikTok, where fans can ratio anything they think Axe smells better than. The challenge kicked off with contributions by comedians Preacher Lawson,  Adam Conover and TV persona Chanel West Coast. (“Because even Chanel knows Axe smells better than Chanel,” the brand’s press release gleefully quips.)

The #AxeRatioChallenge has generated over 32 million TikTok views so far.

CREDITS

Unilever
Augusto Garzon, Vice President Global
Caroline Gregory, Global Brand Director
Daniela Curiel –Global Senior Brand Manager
Jamie Brooks – Global Marketing Manager
Claire Linturn – Global Marketing Specialist

IPG
Federico Duberti, Global Business Director
Gerard Crichlow – Global Strategy Director

The Martin Agency
Danny Robinson, Chief Creative Officer
Ashley Marshall, Executive Creative Director
Mik Manulik, Creative Director
Gillian Merrill, Group Account Director
Pete Norquist, Account Director
Becki Smith, Account Supervisor
Taylor Wiegert, VP Group Planning Director
Stuart Hayhurst, Planning Director
Emily Delius, Art Director
Sophie Marsden, Art Director
Jacob Knight-Thomas, Copywriter
Dallin Slavens, Copywriter
Dylan Webb, Social Content Creator
Garrick Sheldon, Senior Copywriter
Rahim Masunu, Senior Art Director
Natalie Meyer, Senior Project Manager II
Drew Corrigan-Nunez, Senior Social Media Manager
Arrisa Robinson, Community Manager
Gloria Gutierrez-Anderson, Associate Director, Business Affairs II
Brett Alexander, SVP, Managing Director, Head of Production
Evan Frank, Senior Activations Producer III
Kim Zaninovich, Executive Digital Producer II
John McClaire, Senior UX Designer
Paul Martin, Senior Print Producer II
Jamie Dollins, Senior Print Producer
Katie Morgan, Associate Producer
Jacob Munson, Content Producer II
Judd Burnette, Design Director
Jumi Kim, Designer
Brittany Lazaroff, Senior Designer