Axe Body Spray is striving to expand its market beyond teenage boys' lockers.

In the early 2000s, it was likely that you, a teenage boy, used Axe Body Spray at some point.

John Hegarty, founder of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, stated that the notion that using a certain product would result in obtaining a girl is absurd, and both the company and its consumers are aware of this. Despite this, he suggested that they should still play along with the idea for advertising purposes.

In 2002, Axe Body Spray entered the U.S. market and by 2012, Unilever was generating nearly half a billion dollars in domestic sales for Axe products, according to Kline & Company's estimates.

As the brand gained popularity, it rapidly expanded its product line, introducing new body wash and hair care products.

Since 1992, Ann Gottlieb, a fragrance consultant for Axe, has stated that the company launched various other products that diverted advertising dollars away from the body spray, resulting in its failure to grow as it should have.

In 2016, the brand's messaging shifted from risqué and provocative advertisements to a campaign that emphasized gender and sexuality.

Stephan Kanlian, chairperson for the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Cosmetics and Fragrance Graduate Program, stated that the brand pivot they were implementing might have been too far, given the strong brand DNA in the marketplace.

According to Kline & Company, the estimated decline in U.S. total product sales was approximately $150 million between 2012 and 2017.

Euromonitor International reports that the brand remains the top-selling men's deodorant globally, with $1.7 billion in deodorant and body spray sales in 2022.

In 2023, the company launched a new line of fragrances called the fine fragrance collection, with the aim of changing the negative perception of the brand among middle school students.

Unilever declined to be interviewed for this story.