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Axe Peace borrows a slogan from 1960s
protesters
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Men’s grooming brand Axe will air a commercial during Super Bowl XLVIII that “strikes a decidedly somber note,” according to Andrew Adam Newman of the N.Y. TIMES. The 30-second spot introducing a new line called Axe Peace “opens on military helicopters flying over a jungle and cuts to a tank driving down the street of a bomb-ravaged city.” A young uniformed man resembling North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un then appears “overlooking a sea of soldiers, and the ad cuts to a leader who is apparently Middle Eastern surrounded by military men and his wife as he opens an ominous-looking steel attaché case with blinking lights and buttons.” The tank hatch opens, and a soldier “emerges and embraces a young woman, then a soldier who had been in a helicopter runs toward a woman and embraces her.” The leader with the attaché case “presses a red button that starts a fireworks display and he kisses his wife’s hand.” The slogan for the campaign is “borrowed from 1960s protesters, ‘Make love, not war.’” The campaign by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London, “with Rupert Sanders directing the commercial,” was “introduced on YouTube” yesterday (
N.Y. TIMES, 1/15).
COLOR-CODED MESSAGE: AD WEEK’s Tim Nudd noted Kia has tapped actor Laurence Fishburne to “reprise his iconic role of Morpheus" from "The Matrix" for a 60-second Super Bowl commercial from David&Goliath, L.A. The ad will “promote the all-new luxury sedan, the K900.” The spot will depict a couple meeting Morpheus at a valet stand, where he “presents them with two keys -- a red key and a blue key, a reference to the red pill/blue pill scene” in the movie. This will be Kia’s “fifth straight appearance” during the Super Bowl (ADWEEK.com, 1/13).
PLAYING THE PART: In N.Y., Stuart Elliott noted the teaser to Jaguar’s first-ever Super Bowl ad, which features three British actors portraying villains, will be “followed on Jan. 28 by a 30-second, online version.” Spark44 Creative Dir Matthew Page, whose company created the ad, said, “We wanted something that will really stand out in the Super Bowl, with a distinct tone of voice.” Page added the ad includes the kind of “wit that makes something more watchable, more shareable, more enjoyable.” He said, “We looked at British culture for references everyone would understand.” Page said the fact that “all these great villains seem to be played by British actors” was “like a gift from the gods” (N.Y. TIMES, 1/14).
