Axe, BBH And Their Heroic Super Bowl Astronaut

Axe, BBH And Their Heroic Super Bowl Astronaut

Few things are cooler than actually going to space. In fact, we can't think of a single intro that would impress us more than someone telling us they've floated in the cosmos for a few hours, let alone flown the shuttle or *gulp* walked on the moon! Using this truism as the basis for their latest campaign for Axe, BBH London have focussed specifically on the 'pulling' power of the astronaut garb, taking the emphasis away from regular lady-killer jobs like firemen or lifeguards.

Following on from the too-hot-to-handle 'Fireman', the latest spot 'Lifeguard' sees a hunky beach attendant utilise his CPR skills on a damsel in distress, only to be usurped by a hapless chap in a space-suit. The major difference with this entry – it was one of the chosen few spots to air during the Super Bowl 2013 telecast. We chatted with David Kolbusz, Deputy ECD at BBH London, about the campaign, the accolade of being part of the US TV-advertising elite and who his favourite galaxy-traveller might be.

The Axe 'Lifeguard' spot is the second in the 'Nothing Beats An Astronaut' campaign. How did the idea come about?

One of the things BBH does as an agency is partner with Axe on an annual basis to determine what the next fragrance they create is going to be. We had an idea early on about sending young men into space based on the insight that the guy with the best story in the bar always gets the girl. There's no better story than "I've been to space" and so the idea of "Nothing Beats An Astronaut" was born. The next step was to create films that pit astronauts against other aspirational professions in an attempt to illustrate that a spaceman will always win the day.

Creating an ad for the Super Bowl is a pretty auspicious accolade. Was it an exciting prospect, given the potential viewership and expectation, or an alarming challenge, given the competition?

The films were actually created in advance of knowing we'd be in the Super Bowl. Our clients were so pleased with what we shot that they decided to make the media buy after the fact. Very flattering.

How far in advance did you go about prepping the spot?

We made these films about 9 months in advance of the Super Bowl, but traditionally – when I've shot Super Bowl ads in the past – they would normally be created about 2 months before the airdate. Because Super Bowl ads are so expensive, unless a brand has a track record of being in the big game they usually only work up the gumption to invest closer to the date. That's been my experience. It's understandably tough to part with millions of dollars for one ad buy.

The shoot seemed pretty exciting – did the director (Biscuit's Tim Godsall) throw in any Jaws/Baywatch flourishes?

No Jaws. No Baywatch. From the word go we were keen to make these little adventure films as true to the genres they were parodying so you wouldn't see the astronaut rug pull coming from a mile away. Granted, most people wouldn't have guessed that the reveal would be the lifeguard losing his charge to an astronaut, but we were careful to insure that no one at any point smelled a rat.

Firemen and Lifeguards so far – who's next in the 'heroes' line?

Next up we're on to the brave young men who win the competition and undergo rigorous astronaut training further down the line. It'll be exciting to see who rises to the top. It's one thing throwing your hat in the ring but quite another to commit to training for an adventure in orbit and actually taking flight.

Who's your ultimate spaceman/woman?

I think all of the brave men and women who've made the journey into the unknown deserve plaudits for their efforts. There are only a few hundred in the history of humankind and for good reason. Special notice, however, must be given to Buzz Aldrin – our campaign spokesman – for being among the first to land on the moon. It must have been a truly terrifying/exhilarating experience as no one had done it before.

Posted on 13th February 2013