Unilever-owned Lynx is launching the Lynx Holder, a deliberately extravagant bottle designed to house one of its body spray cans as part of a campaign designed to poke fun at the way fragrance is judged by its packaging and price before anyone has even smelled it.
The activity has been created by Lola Madrid, with the Holder giving the familiar spray can the sort of treatment normally reserved for premium fragrance. It is ornate, oversized and completely unnecessary, which is precisely the joke. Lynx wants people to look again at what is inside the can, rather than dismissing it because of the packaging.
Body spray cans carry “baggage”, while elaborate bottles and high prices are often treated as signs of quality. Lynx claims that blind testing tells a different story, with its fragrances performing as well as, or better than, scents retailing for around £350.
The campaign copies the visual language of luxury fragrance and pushes it into absurdity. The holder gives the can all the drama expected at the top end of the category, while leaving the product inside unchanged.
It is launching this month across the UK, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Canada, Argentina and other markets where the brand is called Axe.
Unilever global brand manager Caroline Gregory said: “Axe and Lynx have always had a sense of humour, but fragrance is something we take seriously. The joke only works because the product can back it up.
“Blind tests show our fragrances can perform as well as, or better than, products that retail for around £350. The holder lets us make that point in a way that feels true to the brand.”
Lola Madrid chief creative officer Tomás Ostiglia added: “The Holder is a completely unnecessary and very fancy accessory. That is exactly the point. We are having fun with all the things the fragrance world tells us are needed to make something feel premium.
“A lot of people do not realise that the perfumers behind Lynx and Axe also create some of the world’s most expensive fragrances, so we wanted the outside of the can to catch up with what is already inside.”
The campaign will include activations and collaborations, with the Lynx Holder available through selected online purchases of Lynx products.
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