GO TO THE AXE TOWER ～告白の塔～
- Brand
- Axe
- Year
- 2011
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Fashion & Beauty
- Mechanic
- Adventure & Quest
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- FISHGROVE
- With
- Salvo Inc.
- With
- Bascule Inc.
Objective
AXE Japan wasn't selling deodorant, it was selling nerve: brand research found 66% of 16-34-year-olds said a good scent made them feel braver and more confident, and the team pinpointed confessing romantic feelings as the moment Japanese men needed that confidence most. With surveys showing women wanted a direct move (88% wanted to hear the words said plainly), the site's job was to make confessing feel like a game instead of a risk, and tie that moment to buying AXE.
Solution
You log in with your Twitter or mixi account and pick the confession's target straight from your own list of followers or friends. You type one line confessing how you feel and choose the tone you want to deliver it in, then the site takes over: it builds a CG video starring your avatar sprinting up the "Tower of Confession" and shouting your message from the top, staged as either full drama or comedy. That clip goes out to your target as a Twitter mention with a link, and they answer right there in the interface with OK or NO while mutual friends can chime in with congratulations or consolation. If you're too nervous to send anything for real, a practice mode lets you rehearse in front of a hot-springs-beauty character who rates your attempt, plus a for-fun compatibility read-out built into the finished video.
Results
About 12,000 confessions were sent through the site by mid-July 2011, and the AXE site logged 1.6 million visits in a single month.
- 1
The player arrives at the GO TO THE AXE TOWER confession site and signs in with a Twitter or mixi account, which is required to take part.
- 2
The player picks a confession target from their own Twitter followers or mixi friends, pulled directly from their existing contact list.
- 3
The player types the confession message and chooses a delivery manner — forceful, romantic, or shy — which changes how the resulting scene plays out.
- 4
A CG video plays showing the player's avatar sprinting up a tower and shouting the confession from the top, staged as both dramatic and comic.
- 5
During the video the player also gets a lighthearted compatibility diagnosis with the chosen recipient.
- 6
The recipient receives a tweet mention linking to the video, watches it, and responds on the page with either OK or NO.
- 7
Friends who see the confession can send congratulations if it succeeds or words of comfort if it's turned down.
- 8
A separate practice mode lets hesitant players rehearse a confession on a stock character, a "hot-springs beauty," who rates the attempt.
