FiOS Fires Up Axe Ad Test

If the humping bunnies in the roadside ditch aren’t proof positive that you’re watching a spot for the Axe line of men’s grooming products, the lesbian vampires in the stolen police car are a dead giveaway.In accordance with a media strategy that has remained unapologetically absurdist since Unilever launched the brand in 2002, the new “Let the Game Continue” creative hews to the governing principles of the Axe Universe, which is to say that the product––in this case, Axe Shock body wash––instantly sends any proximate female into the throes of estrus. Only this time around, thanks to the interactive platform developed by Verizon for its FiOS TV service, the young men being targeted by the pitch can control exactly how much rutting the gawky protagonist will enjoy/endure. (Axe men always seem somewhat ill-used once the stuff’s apparent aphrodisiacal properties kick in.)Beginning this week, FiOS subscribers in New York and Philadelphia will find the long-form Axe Shock creative by way of 30-second spots and ads running on FiOS’ interactive program guide. After the viewer uses his remote to click on an onscreen bug, the eight-minute narrative opens with the aftermath of a fiery car wreck. Before you can say “Boom chicka wah wah,” the vaguely Belgian-looking hero winds up making a new friend in the horny lady ice-cream-truck driver.After each encounter, the viewer is prompted to continue his journey through the night. The amount of brand exposure (and simulated sex) increases proportionally with the duration of the FiOS sub’s commitment to the commercial.The trigger spots will run MTV, Comedy Central and Spike TV. According to Nielsen-Monitor-Plus data, Axe spent $63 million on measured media in 2008, up 58 percent from $40 million the previous year.Because the mini-movie violates many established employee-conduct protocols, Axe adherents are advised to check out the online version (ShockRevives.com) from the comfort of their dormitories. That said, an early test of the spot in FiOS’ Buffalo, N.Y., footprint suggests that the Axe Shock ad is pretty sticky. According to FiOS, the average viewer stayed locked in for six of the eight minutes.The interactive spot was developed for Unilever by BrightLine iTV, which has partnered with Axe since 2005. “While the scope of what FiOS has done with interactive is still quite limited, they’re really starting to move the needle,” said BrightLine iTV CEO Jacquie Corbelli. “It’s going to be a challenge for any telecom or Internet-protocol-type company to move in on the cable guys’ turf, but FiOS is up to that challenge.”The question is, can FiOS catch up to the top cable operators, which have been experimenting with marketers in ITV advertising for the last five years. For example, Cablevision and the Walt Disney Co. in ’07 launched a standalone VOD channel promoting Disney’s theme parks and adventure-travel business. Viewers can use their remotes to request additional information, prompting a call from a Disney travel rep within 15 minutes.“We’re very proud of our leadership position in the ITV ad space, which has been further enhanced by the evolution of our Power: 30,” said Barry Frey, senior vp, advanced platform sales, Cablevision. (The Power: 30 initiative positions the 30-second unit as a jumping-off point to long-form addressable and telescoping ads.) “We’ve had more than than 30 blue-chip advertisers line up to enhance their messaging with these interactive, and engaging, long-form experiences.Marketers are sweet on advanced advertising because it spikes the punch of TV spots with the bracing liquor of quantifiable data streams. According to Corbelli, ITV ads boast an average click-through rate of between 3 percent and 6 percent, outperforming the Internet’s 1 percent response rate.As the recession continues to hamper many clients’ vanilla TV plans, interest in hybridized buys is on the rise. “The pace of experimentation has accelerated,” Corbelli said. “When you can deliver CPMs by the traditional measures and then you add the engagement factor, you can’t ask for a more encouraging ROI proposition.”

Convergent TV

FiOS Fires Up Axe Ad Test

Anthony Crupi

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