Axe's Viral Redesign: How a TikTok Joke Became Real Product

In the fast-paced, often unforgiving arena of digital marketing, brands typically spend millions on meticulously crafted campaigns, focus-grouped designs, and strategic product launches. Axe, a legacy brand under the Unilever umbrella, just rewrote that playbook by embracing the one thing most corporations fear: chaos. By transforming a viral TikTok joke from an absurdist graphic designer into a real, limited-edition product, Axe has delivered a masterclass in social listening, cultural participation, and the art of not taking oneself too seriously.

The collaboration with TikTok creator Emily Zugay, known for her hilariously deadpan and intentionally amateurish logo redesigns, is far more than a clever stunt. It represents a profound shift in brand strategy, moving from broadcasting a message to co-creating a narrative with the very audience it seeks to engage. The result is a simple white can with a clip art-style axe, a design that on its surface defies all conventional branding wisdom, yet in context, is one of the most brilliant marketing moves of the year.

The Spark: From Viral Video to Brand Activation in 24 Hours

The genesis of this campaign wasn't born in a boardroom but in the spontaneous, unpredictable world of a TikTok For You Page. In July, Emily Zugay, in her signature deadpan style, posted a video introducing her unsolicited redesign for Axe. Her rationale was as comical as it was insightful: she reframed the brand as being 'made for men,' a deliberate pivot away from its long-held association with middle school locker rooms. The design itself was a masterwork of minimalist absurdity—a crude, clip art axe on a stark white background.

The post immediately caught fire. It amassed over 5 million views and thousands of comments, a testament to Zugay's ability to tap into a shared comedic sensibility. Here, most brands would have simply left a witty comment and moved on, content with the fleeting moment of earned media. Axe, however, saw something more. In a display of remarkable agility, the brand mocked up a physical can featuring Zugay's design and shared it across its social channels within a mere 24 hours.

This rapid response was the critical first step. It demonstrated that the brand wasn't just monitoring its mentions but was actively listening and, more importantly, willing to play along. It validated the creator's humor and signaled to a massive online community that Axe was in on the joke, instantly transforming a one-way critique into a two-way conversation.

Crowning the 'Big Boss': Crafting a Narrative, Not an Ad

Axe's masterstroke was not just in producing the can, but in building an entire narrative around its creation. The brand didn't just license a design; it onboarded a personality. Emily Zugay was playfully coronated as Axe's "Big Boss," a fabricated title that became the centerpiece of a multi-post story arc on both TikTok and Instagram. This elevated Zugay from a third-party creator to a central character in the brand's ongoing activation.

This approach aligns perfectly with what Dolores Assalini, head of Axe U.S., describes as creating an "entertainment cycle" rather than a one-and-done product launch. By weaving a continuous story, Axe encouraged sustained engagement. Each post built upon the last, inviting the community to follow the journey of the "Big Boss" and her unconventional vision. This narrative strategy keeps the brand top-of-mind and fosters a deeper, more memorable connection than a traditional advertisement ever could.

The story culminated in the ultimate payoff: the Zugay-designed can became a real product, available for purchase on Walmart’s website. This act closed the loop, proving that the entire activation was more than just social media banter. It was a tangible outcome that the community had witnessed from inception to retail, making them feel like integral participants in the process.

The Philosophy of Co-Creation: Speaking With, Not To, Gen Z

At the heart of this campaign is a fundamental understanding of the modern consumer, particularly Gen Z and the emerging Gen Alpha. As Assalini astutely pointed out, "Young guys today don't want to just be spoken to. They want to feel like they're part of the process of creating brands." This sentiment marks a seismic shift from the top-down marketing model of the past, where brands dictated trends and tastes.

Today's digitally native consumers value collaboration and participation. They are not passive recipients of advertising; they are active creators and curators of culture. By embracing Zugay's design and narrative, Axe effectively handed over a piece of its brand identity to its community. This act of trust and partnership is far more powerful than any polished ad campaign because it fosters a sense of shared ownership.

Zugay herself articulated the power of this approach, noting that brands that "lean into meme culture really connect with people today." She added, "it’s the brands that feel relatable and make us laugh or feel something that stick in our minds." Axe's willingness to be the subject of a joke, and then to amplify that joke, made it profoundly relatable and human in a marketplace crowded with sterile corporate messaging.

Beyond Authenticity: The Power of Cultural Participation

For years, "authenticity" has been the most overused and ill-defined buzzword in marketing. The Axe and Zugay collaboration demonstrates a more evolved and effective strategy: genuine cultural participation. This goes beyond simply adopting the slang or memes of a target demographic. It's about becoming an active and meaningful part of the culture that consumers are creating in real-time.

Assalini articulated this distinction perfectly: "We're not just showing up where they are, speaking their language and using their memes, but we're reflecting the culture that they're creating, and combining that with who we are as a brand." Axe didn't just use a meme; it allowed a meme to reshape its physical product. This is a deeper level of integration that shows the brand is not just an observer of culture, but a willing participant, comfortable enough in its own identity to let others play with it.

This strategy requires a level of corporate bravery and a departure from rigid brand guidelines. By relinquishing a degree of control, Axe gained something far more valuable: cultural relevance and the genuine affection of a notoriously ad-skeptical generation.

A Blueprint for Unilever's Future

This campaign is not an isolated experiment but a clear signal of a larger strategic pivot for Axe's parent company, Unilever. The CPG giant recently announced plans to direct 50% of its advertising spend to social media and to increase its work with influencers by a factor of 20. For a company of Unilever's scale, these are not minor adjustments; they represent a fundamental reshaping of its marketing philosophy.

The Axe x Emily Zugay project serves as the flagship case study for this new direction. It proves that influencer-driven, social-first campaigns can drive not only engagement but also tangible commercial outcomes. Assalini's confidence is palpable when she states this is an example of Axe "doing something that no brand at Unilever and really, any brand, has done at this level." It is a pioneering effort that sets a new standard for how legacy brands can and should engage with digital culture.

In the end, the simple white can with its clip art axe is a trophy. It symbolizes a victory for agility over bureaucracy, for humor over hubris, and for collaboration over control. It proves that in the modern marketing landscape, the most resonant messages are not always the most polished, but the most human. Axe took a swing on an absurd idea, and in doing so, hit a home run that will be studied in marketing departments for years to come.