I feel dirty, I bought an Axe product...

[Tannhauser]

I was looking online for a sandalwood scented antiperspirant. Something that might pair well with my daily Proraso Wood & Spice cologne. I'm in Texas, so deodorant is not an option for me, has to be an antiperspirant, so that ruled a lot of sandalwood-scented stuff out. Dove Men+Care has one, but it's almost impossible to find that particular one around here.

So, I started looking online, saw sandalwood as part of Old Spice's Hawkridge scent and put that on my list. One of my searches returned Axe's Apollo scent, so I figured I'd look that one up. I didn't like the overall profile on it, so I figured it couldn't hurt (too much) to look at the rest of the Axe line. Their Signature Gold got my attention: Oud and Vanilla. So, I put that on my list. Went to the store this morning, and sniffed both the OS Hawkridge and Axe Signature Gold products. Didn't like the Hawkridge, not anything like the Proraso Wood & Spice at all. But the Axe, I liked it.

So, now I've bought an Axe product. And, at 40, I'm, what, twice the age of their target demographic?

 

[BigJ]

Yep! More than twice the age of their target!

 

[IMightBeWrong]

I think their target is more like 15. Once I hit my 20's I started avoiding it!

 

[Highspeedlane]

I think their target is more like 15. Once I hit my 20's I started avoiding it!

15 is about the age my two middle boys started using that stuff. The scents they chose in that line...well let's just say it was so off-putting my wife had to speak to them about putting it on before they get in a car with her. I swear it smells like some chemical you would want on to repel Amazon mosquitoes

 

[GilletteSetter]

I'm 27 and haven't used Axe in a good 15 years or so, yet I found myself buying a stick of Kilo deodorant the other day. It was definitely a weird feeling haha

 

[gagi]

First of all great thread name, I had to click on it And second, If you like it, who cares what's on the label! Hard stuff to pick anyway, on my side of the world there's no more deodorants, only antiperspirants, plus some weird natural stuff that doesn't work. If I find some Axe that does all my requirements, I'll buy it, and do commercial for it

 

[Graybeard57]

My sons quickly outgrew Axe products. Perhaps you will, too? But hey, if you like it, use it. I tried their shower gel, and it was pretty good.

 

[Big_Tex]

I did about 2 or 3 years of Axe stuff when I was younger. I pretty much stopped by the time I was 21 I think. They do have a mentholated body wash that I enjoy but other than that....meh.

 

[dieselfuel79]

Tried a few sprays when I was in my late teens... I’m 38 now. Not for me.

 

[Rhody]

And now you have a strange desire to go to a rave.

 

[sfeile]

@Tannhauser I'll back you up.
I'll be 45 in 5 days and I have been using the dark temptation shower gel and deodorant/antiperspirant for about 9 years now. Was looking for something new in the store one day and picked one up. Liked the way it smelled and been using it ever since.

My age, long hair, tattoos, and lifestyle are the exact opposite of their target demographic. But hey, if you like it, you like it!

 

[OtterLunacy]

There's something interesting I just remembered, and I thought it would be worth mentioning. Every female I've heard express an opinion about Axe has hated it. As in, HATE. Seriously. It's really funny when you realize that their entire marketing campaign is "guys, wear this and every girl will be unable to keep their hands off of you!"

They sure know how to get the attention of the target demographic, but I feel like they didn't do much market research to make sure that the product works even remotely as advertised.

 

[Tannhauser]

Without resorting to some market research of my own (i.e. asking the ladies), I would guess the reason why many women dislike Axe could be because the marketing (that I remember seeing, anyway) shows these young guys spraying almost the whole can all over themselves. That's a cloud of funk that nobody will like.

 

[OtterLunacy]

That's a cloud of funk that nobody will like.

This is true, and I think that did play a part in their dislike. But also I'm pretty sure that none of them actually liked the scents.

 

[sfeile]

There's something interesting I just remembered, and I thought it would be worth mentioning. Every female I've heard express an opinion about Axe has hated it. As in, HATE. Seriously. It's really funny when you realize that their entire marketing campaign is "guys, wear this and every girl will be unable to keep their hands off of you!"

They sure know how to get the attention of the target demographic, but I feel like they didn't do much market research to make sure that the product works even remotely as advertised.

The ex-wife, the fling, and the current woman all like the one I use. And I've actually gotten a few random compliments.
I don't use the spray though. I can see where that would get overwhelming and annoying really fast.

I do think their marketing is retarded though, but then again, I feel that way about a lot of marketing I see.

 

[BlueTomorrow]

I don't use Axe sprays but honestly their body washes and deodorant/AP sticks are just fine by me. They aren't going to "wow" anyone but there's nothing wrong with the product aside from the terrible advertising (which seems to be getting better as of late).

 

[auk1124]

The whole "hate Axe" thing, to my mind, is just as trendy, vacuous, and silly as the whole "no ketchup" thing at a lot of burger and hot dog joints.

My wife bought me a stick of some sort of Axe deodorant that smells kind of like caramel and vanilla. Not bad. I am pushing 50. Anyone who tells me I can't use that deodorant, or put ketchup on a hot dog, can go stuff themselves.

 

[BlueTomorrow]

The whole "hate Axe" thing, to my mind, is just as trendy, vacuous, and silly as the whole "no ketchup" thing at a lot of burger and hot dog joints.

My wife bought me a stick of some sort of Axe deodorant that smells kind of like caramel and vanilla. Not bad. I am pushing 50. Anyone who tells me I can't use that deodorant, or put ketchup on a hot dog, can go stuff themselves.

+1

 

[Badgerstate36]

Hey, if it works for you, who cares what brandname is on it. I'll admit that I have kind of a bias against Axe because its a teenager's brand but if they had a scent that I loved, Id just have to get over it.
Personally, I love Old Spice and its kind of considered to be an, "old man" brand and Im far from being an old man but I dont care. Infact, quite a few times Ive been wearing Old Spice deodorant and people will tell me I smell good, ask what Im wearing and are surprised when I tell them its Old Spice.

 

[ZJ68]

I think once you get past Axe's horrid cringeworthy marketing, most of their products smell pretty good.