A can of Ax surrounded by an ornamental, oversized and really unnecessary packaging. This is the proposal of “The Lynx Holder”, the new Unilever brand campaign (Ax is known as Lynx in the United Kingdom), which seeks to question the extent to which price and packaging design determine the perception of quality of a fragrance.

The idea, developed by Lola Madrid, is based on a common difference between categories. While body sprays are traditionally presented in functional bottles, high-end perfumes use elaborate bottles and high prices that help convey an image of exclusivity.
Ax has decided to take those codes to the extreme. The result is a support that surrounds your conventional bottle with all the ornamentation associated with a luxury fragrance, without modifying the product it contains.

Exaggeration is precisely the creative argument of the campaign: if the external appearance influences how a fragrance is judged before even smelling it, the brand proposes providing its product with a packaging in line with the visual expectations of the premium category.

“The Lynx Holder” reproduces the visual language of high-end perfumery and takes it to the absurd. The usual bottle is integrated into a much more elaborate structure that seeks to give it the visual drama of the products located in the most expensive part of the category.

The campaign is also supported by blind tests carried out by the brand. According to Ax and Lynx, their fragrances achieve results equal to or superior to perfumes marketed for around 400 euros, an argument with which they want to move the conversation from the price and packaging to the smell itself.

“Ax and Lynx have always had a sense of humor, but fragrances are something we take seriously. The joke only works because the product can back it up”explains Caroline Gregory, Global Brand Director of Ax and Lynx at Unilever. “Blind tests show that our fragrances can perform as well or better than expensive products. The holder allows us to convey this in a way that is true to the brand.”

The proposal also puts the focus on who is behind the development of the fragrances. According to the agency, some of the perfumers who work for Ax and Lynx also create fragrances that are among the most expensive on the market.

“The Ax and Lynx holder is a completely unnecessary and very sophisticated accessory. That is exactly the goal”says Tomás Ostiglia, Chief Creative Officer of Lola Madrid. “We’re having fun with all the things that the perfume world tells us are necessary to make something look premium.”

The campaign thus plays with a contradiction: all the creative effort is concentrated on modifying the external perception of a product that remains exactly the same inside. To do this, Lola Madrid uses the codes that usually communicate luxury: ornamentation, size and spectacularity of the container, and applies them to an everyday format such as the body spray bottle.

“Many people don’t realize that the perfumers behind Ax and Lynx also create some of the most expensive fragrances in the world, so we wanted the outside of the bottle to live up to what’s already inside”explains Ostiglia.

“The Ax Holder” and “The Lynx Holder” will be released during September 2026 in markets such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Canada and Argentina, among others. The campaign will also have activations and collaborations. In the case of the United Kingdom, the Lynx Holder will be available through certain online purchases of the brand’s products.