In 2025, Lola MullenLowe Madrid’s Scratch & Sniff campaign for the deodorant melded experiential, outdoor with a hint of social. And most importantly, it made us laugh and remember.
The intent was to reinvent fragrance advertising by letting people literally smell the product on the street.
The billboards were printed with scented ink featuring the brand’s latest fragrance line. Passersby could scratch the surface to release the aroma, transforming a long-running cultural joke about Axe’s potency into a tactile and humorous engagement.
Humorous? Why? Well, look where people are having to sniff. A fun snippable moment that can work in platforms beyond as well as a sticky idea that sells in product benefit.
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The campaign won five major awards, including Cannes Lions and Clio recognition for innovation in outdoor. It was praised for bringing interactivity to a category known for visual excess.
Scratch & Sniff proved that when experiential meets creativity, even the oldest media format can still surprise the senses.
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