Interpublic Group of Cos.’ The Martin Agency has picked up duties on Unilever’s Axe, and MDC Partners’ 72andSunny is out, as the brand searches for some new magic—or better “effect.”
Actually, 72andSunny hasn’t worked on Axe in over two years, a spokeswoman for the agency says, though the separation wasn’t previously announced by the company or agency. “We’re incredibly proud of the impactful work we created together,” she said in a statement, “repositioning their brand and launching a global cultural movement that embraced modern masculinity and brought lasting impact not only to their business, but to the world.”
Axe and Lynx have a long heritage of alternating among multiple shops, dating to decades of Publicis Groupe's BBH working alongside units of Interpublic’s Lowe. But a Unilever spokeswoman said Axe has brought Martin in to work alongside Interpublic’s MullenLowe as part of the company’s practice of working across holding companies. Previously, Unilever moved Seventh Generation from 72andSunny to independent Opinionated in 2019.
“We have consolidated our overall roster to fewer creative partners, better leveraging talent from our preferred holding companies (such as IPG, Omnicom and WPP) and supplementing their expertise with specialist independent agencies,” the Unilever spokeswoman said. “Axe is a great example of a brand benefiting from this new ecosystem, as a broader relationship with IPG has enabled the Martin Agency to be part of the creative leadership of the brand.”