• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer, 7 hours ago

Axe is jumping into the apparently never-ending yearning for Y2K brands, resurrecting Kilo, Touch and Anarchy: fondly remembered, but discontinued, scents.

It's also introducing Afterdate, a limited-edition collection, with comical ads created by Frank, where the woman whispering “I wish I met you earlier” gets her wish. And yes, fellas, your vision of what you looked like at 16 doesn’t quite hold up.

“We got better,” the ads say. “So did you.”

Dolores Assalini, head of Axe US, says the move is a triple play. First, it’s looking to introduce younger consumers to the brand, a cohort already inclined to love Y2K-era nostalgia. Second, the brand hopes to give millennials a whiff of their past. And finally, the launch highlights new product technology that prevents the insane over-spraying of the ‘90s era -- remember those clouds in the locker room? -- with a gentler, easier-to-control mist.

“We have a strong audience of guys who have been using Apollo, Phoenix and Dark Temptation for 20 years, and they are nostalgic for the old fragrances,” she tells CPG Insider. “These are the most requested fragrances on social media.”

The steady drumbeat of requests, combined with younger audiences' Y2K yearnings, made the timing obvious. “We think it will capture the ones who are nostalgic for the past and the ones who are nostalgic for an era that they never lived in,” Assalini says.

The limited-edition launch aims to drive get-it-while-it’s-hot purchases, of course. But it’s also the brand’s nod that the current fascination with Y2K aesthetics won’t last forever.

While the three “new” fragrances weren’t taken out of rotation at the same time, Unilever wanted to bring them back together as a set. “All three fragrances work really nicely together as a collection.”

The social-first media plan includes all the usual social platforms, but especially TikTok. “That’s where these trends are living these days,” she says. “We're seeing all the old Y2K posts, skits and the influencers within those platforms.”

The ads themselves are about sexual attraction, which has long been Axe’s favorite stories to tell, and are aimed not just at men, but at the many women who shop for their sons, boyfriends and husbands. “We think guys are willing to look back at themselves with humor, and girls will look at these and say, 'Yes, I dated that guy,” says Assalini.

The Axe portfolio’s core products account for about 70% of its business. The new launches will be sold alongside those. In 2023, it launched a fine fragrance collection, a more premium line with more sophisticated scents.

And while she’s hoping Afterdate will be a hit and sell out fast, the real test will be how many new buyers it’s attracting, and how satisfied brand loyalists are.