• by Karl Greenberg , July 15, 2014

"Summer of Temptation" is here, or at least it is starting on Wednesday. It is male personal-care brand Axe's campaign meant to support the company's new "Gold Temptation" fragrance, and address the fact that, per the Unilever brand, three-quarters of men, and 60% of women say they don't understand what tempts the opposite sex.

The social effort at #TemptationTuesday, is designed to get online conversation going around how the human species dates and what attracts one specimen to another. The effort, at Axetemptation.tumblr.com, is consequent to a survey of 2,000 people that Axe did with GQ and Lucky. The company said that 81% of women are more tempted to go out with a guy if he asks her out with a personal phone call vs. a text or email; more than 90% of guys say they would love it if girls made the first move and initiated conversation.

As part of the campaign, actor Michael B. Jordan, who will star in the superhero flick "The Fantastic Four" next year, will conduct and direct a video social program. According to a company rep, that “experiment” will involve Jordan co-creating video content “That will uncover the truth behind temptation in different areas of life, including dating, food, money, and more.” The video will debut in September, per the rep. The company says GoldTemptation, a fragrance with just a hint of chocolate essence, is the first extension of the brand in its 30-year history. 

Market research firm Mintel, in its most recent report on the category, says price and scent are important to younger men as part of their consideration process around toiletry and grooming products. The research firm says that as the lines between personal care categories are continuing to blur, fragrance is a product attribute that consumers expect to have in a number of personal care products. 

The Chicago-based company finds that some 30% of men are, in fact, interested in seeing more personal care products that come in a greater variety of masculine fragrances. "This further emphasizes that fragrance is a very important product attribute across segments and that brands need to offer a variety of fragrance profiles across product portfolios," says the report. 

However, while younger men seem more interested in trying new grooming and toiletry products, overall, interest in new products for the total male population is not very strong. "Expanding the current product repertoire of the men’s personal care market could prove challenging," the report says.