It is estimated that a typical person living in a city sees more than 5,000 advertisements every day. For a brand's message to capture attention amidst all that confusion, its advertising must not only be clever and visually appealing, but also memorable and unique in its approach. In an effort to reverse its well-earned reputation as a brand for misogynistic men hoping to control women, Ax created a campaign aimed at showing the power women have over men. To that end, Ax and his agency, BBH New York, began by surreptitiously planting the seeds on the Internet for "a viral meme named Susan Glenn." For its new advert, Ax focused and dramatized the idea of the girl who got away and warned its young customers not to let that happen to them. Through Axe's use of a mixture of truth, sexual appeal, modern storytelling across different media, and of course, a celebrity, the advertising company was able to present Ax as. a brand that understands and solves the anxieties of its customers in the 15-21 year old male demographic. The creators widely distributed the Susan Glenn meme on sites like Tumblr, slang dictionaries, and message boards, Ax representatives promoted "Susan Glenn" as the "fantastic, super attractive woman" every man wanted, but never had the courage to ask for a date. In the commercial, Susan is depicted as an otherworldly high school student who confused everyone she met. The ad itself takes Susan out of the real world by saying, "In [Susan's] presence, everything that was beautiful before her arrival became grotesque. And in her shadow, others became goblins. ... In my mind, I was a peasant before a queen." There is no denying that attractive people attract attention... the center of the card ...and managers were able to sell their product to all people beyond, and as a result of such popularity, the message also reached people who wouldn't normally buy Ax products. The announcement even sparked a Facebook page focused on identifying and finding the courage to connect with the Susan Glenn in your life Glenn' is more than a name, it's a timeless truth for every guy who's ever walked down the aisle of a school," said Matthew McCarthy, senior director of brand development for Axe, in a statement. "Giving kids the courage to reach out to own 'Susan Glenn' is exactly what we strive to accomplish with this campaign, that stays true to the essence of the brand." Through Susan Glenn's imagery and story, Ax was able to promote her body spray as a symbol of achieving the unimaginable and to create brand awareness outside of its target demographic.
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