• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, May 2, 2025

Comedian Pete Davidson is taking over Axe’s Instagram for a Reddit-style “Axe Me Anything” session. The Unilever-owned brand hopes Davidson, a perpetual underdog known for dating some of the hottest celebrities, can boost the dating confidence of Gen Alpha boys.

Axe is working with the Martin Agency, and the Instagram effort is part of a broader campaign that includes a new ad and two new fragrances: Cherry Spritz and Watermelon Freeze. Dolores Assalini, head of Axe U.S., explains why Pete’s more than just a punchline -- and how Axe is evolving for today’s teen.

Interview has been edited for clarity and length.

CPG Insider: Why Pete Davidson? Why Instagram? Why "Axe Me Anything"?

Dolores Assalini: Pete Davidson is incredibly popular with our young guys, someone they look up to. And he just has this confidence -- or, as the young kids say, "rizz." He makes an authentic partnership for the brand. He’s been using Axe since high school, and Phoenix is his favorite fragrance.

We wanted to allow young guys to ask him questions about what gives him the confidence to get the girl and make the move. We see that 13- to 14-year-old guys struggle with confidence.

CPG Insider: Is that 13-to-14-year-old your target?

Assalini: Our sweet spot is 11 to 17, but guys of all ages use Axe. Friends in their late 30s and early 40s tell me they’ve loved the brand forever, and it is nostalgic for Gen Xers.

CPG Insider: Axe is well known. Awareness isn’t your problem. But there’s more competition, not just Old Spice and Native, but many D2C brands. Is this about boosting trial?

Assalini: We’re trying to stay relevant with that young guy. When Axe launched, what made us great was that we focused on fragrance -- giving you confidence in a humorous way. We’ve always brought that humor piece. We’ve always had a little bit of an edge. So does Pete. That combination is what makes Axe different.

We have amazing fragrances. We tell stories that are culturally relevant and humorous. Pete’s the same. He’s funny in real life, just like on “SNL.” He’s going to help bring that confidence to young guys through Axe. That’s what makes us different from Old Spice or others.

CPG Insider: Over the years, your tone has shifted to less “spray and get girls” and more one-on-one. Is that deliberate?

Assalini: Young guys today are different than they were in 2003. They’re very different about products. They’re much more in touch with themselves.

In the early 2000s, our advertising was very much “spray Axe, get all the babes.” Now, young guys want one-on-one connection. They want one girl to smell them -- not 20.

These guys are often in their living rooms, on their phones or gaming. We’re pushing them to say: “Get out of your room. Go out. Put your Axe into it. Show her you’re making an effort.”

We’re not changing. We’re evolving to who the young guy is today. Still fragrance. Still humor. Still attraction stories. Just evolved.

CPG Insider: Speaking of gaming, Axe was early to that world. Is it still a marketing priority?

Assalini: Gaming is a passion of young guys. We’ll always have a tie to gaming, as well as anime and music. That’s their culture.

CPG Insider: Influencer marketing is under fire lately. Audiences say it’s overused. And Davidson appears in lots of ads, from Manscaped to Taco Bell. Is that a risk?

Assalini: It comes down to authenticity. When influencers are pushing a different brand every day, that’s when it becomes oversaturated. But Pete? Ninety percent of why we picked him was authenticity and relevance.

He’s been using Axe since high school. He’ll tell you Phoenix is his favorite. He used it after the gym, kept it in his car. That matters.

CPG Insider: Let’s talk about today’s seventh graders. What’s changed?

Assalini: Young guys care a lot about how they look and how they show up. Fragrance is a big part of that. They want trendier, more premium scents. That’s why we launched the fine fragrance collection in 2021.

Cherry Spritz and Watermelon Freeze -- our new scents -- are inspired by what’s trending in the prestige space. These guys want a premium experience, and that includes complex fragrances.

CPG Insider: Axe is a broad personal care brand. How do you prioritize what product lines to push?

Assalini: We’re the No. 1 body spray, and it is the brand’s bread and butter. It’s the heart of our fragrance and attraction story. We also have deodorant sticks -- both aluminum-free and antiperspirants with 72-hour protection -- because many guys in the U.S. prefer stick format. Our body washes are popular, too.

Body spray leads and lends a halo to other categories. Men now see us as a personal care brand, not just body spray.