“Selfmaker” a new online effort from Axe, celebrates men that go against the grain and encourages others to do the same.
The campaign — the first work from Sid Lee since being named agency of record for the Unilever-owned brand in November — consists of a manifesto outlining the Selfmaker archetype and three profiles of Canadian men who abandoned their existing careers to pursue their dreams.
These self-makers include Tomas Romita, who earned an accounting degree and immediately changed course to found custom menswear company Made Clothing; Charles Bierbrier, who left his banking career behind to start Bierbrier Brewing; and a DJ/production duo comprised of Tom Wrecks and Pat Drastik.
According to Jessica Grigoriou, marketing director of hair care and deodorants at Unilever Canada, a selfmaker has the courage, grit and determination to leave the comfortable route behind. “ [He’s] a man who doesn’t just climb the ladder, but has the confidence to build his own… who has the guts to take a risk and make a sacrifice, and abandon the well-trodden path in order to pursue a career he’s truly passionate about.”
“We know this campaign will be aspirational to the younger generation, but we also know the experience is relevant to the guy who is considering what his career looks like,” Grigoriou said. “A guy who has that spark of an idea that maybe hasn’t acted on it yet. This campaign will hopefully give him the confidence to really take that step and make it happen for himself.”
Axe recently conducted a global masculinity study and found modern men highly value career success, which helped inform the Selfmaker campaign.
“Axe has always been rooted in confidence, but we’re evolving as our guys are evolving and we’re thinking about a guy’s life in totality and that goes beyond just getting the girl,” Grigoriou said. “We know that guys want to succeed not only in their personal lives, but also in their professional and social lives.”
The videos are housed on Axe’s YouTube channel and Tumbler page. The effort also includes influencer outreach handled by Harbinger, and paid media from Mindshare.
Selfmaker runs through to October.
