Just for Dudes

Vladi, a senior at the University of Florida, was lounging around at his Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house when he remembered the laundry he had left in the Laundromat overnight. His forgetfulness was about to land him a job. When he grabbed his clothes from the dryer top, the first thing he noticed among his socks and boxers was a black thong. "I was like, 'Well, this isn't my size!'" says Vladi, 22. Then he read the white lettering on the front: DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE THE NEXT AXE AMBASSADOR? "I said, 'Yes, I do.'" Vladi sent his résumé to a Web address printed on the thong, interviewed and was hired to join Axe Bodyspray's small army of college representatives who receive a modest salary to promote Axe around campus by throwing parties, handing out products and generating buzz.

Tossing thongs in guys' dryers is just one of the bold marketing stunts Axe is using to woo 18- to 24-year-olds. And guys like Vladi are responding. Three years ago, most teenage boys had no idea they needed body spray--a combination of deodorant and light cologne often used in addition to antiperspirant--to attract girls. Now Axe has an 83% share of a $180 million market, with $150 million in annual sales.

All this spritzing has caused quite a sweat in the deodorant industry. Sparked largely by Axe's success, a fierce fight has developed among Unilever's Axe, Procter & Gamble's Old Spice and Gillette's Right Guard. (P&G and Gillette have announced plans to merge.) Although sales of Old Spice, for instance, have grown for 10 straight years, Axe is the mover of the moment. Unilever has spent more than $100 million marketing the brand since its August 2002 launch. Wearing Axe will lead to the ultimate male fantasies, imply the ads; one shows a refrigerator stuffed with nothing but whipped-cream bottles and the line "The Axe Effect." The company places ads in such media outlets as Maxim and FHM, which target primarily young-male audiences. "The product has a role in the ads--to help women pay attention to you," says Kevin George, Unilever's director of marketing.

Axe has also changed the dynamics of the deodorant category by convincing young men that they need to spray their entire bodies several times a day. Thirty-five percent of guys 11 to 24 now wear body spray, according to Unilever. And users go through cans faster than they do deodorant sticks. The financial reality: while Axe Bodyspray is priced slightly higher than antiperspirants--at $3.99 a can vs. $2.76 on average for a stick--it's a lot cheaper than a $50 bottle of cologne. A teen can certainly afford Axe on his allowance.

In response to the Axe onslaught, Old Spice created Red Zone Body Spray in 2004, marketing its purported lasting scent. "Old Spice represents honesty, and we do that with straightforward ads," says Carl Stealey, P&G's brand manager. The company also signed up NASCAR driver Tony Stewart and Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher as spokesmen. Gillette, meanwhile, is introducing its new body spray, Tag, this month with a suggested retail price slightly higher than Axe's, at $4.49.