Viral Now: Olive branch gets 'AXE effect'

The YouTube video, which promotes the brand's new line of body spray AXE Peace, has recorded 2.8 million views.

It seems real life does sometimes imitate reel life! AXE, the cult body spray brand from Unilever, usually shows a horde of women lusting after men who have used AXE, terming the phenomenon as the 'AXE effect'. The brand has apparently successfully created the same 'effect' on its digital audience, who can't seem to get enough of the brand's latest 60-second online video.

Titled 'AXE Peace: Make Love, Not War' introduces the brand's latest body spray offering - AXE Peace. The video, which was uploaded on YouTube on January 14, has already clocked 2.8 million views in a matter of a week!

The first part of the video is a collage of various conflicts that have speckled different pockets of the world; many bear resemblance to iconic conflict scenes shown by the media. For instance, a Caucasian soldier in a helicopter circling paddy fields (the US-Vietnam war of the '70s), a leader in uniform looking at a perfect file of men and women in military uniform (our guess is the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un), a scene of a military tank making its way through the rubbles in a war ravaged town (looks like the Balkan war), and a person delivering a closely guarded metal briefcase embedded with gadgets to a rich West Asian man flanked by armed men (an indication of the terrorist attacks). From past to present, the brand appears to touch upon the highlights of some key conflicts the West has been involved in.

In the second part, each scene dramatically culminates in a completely different situation. At one point during the 'Balkan war' scene, a woman holding bags on each hand confronts the military tank, reminding one of the historic Tiananmen Square protest, only to climb the tank and embrace the soldier. In its typical manner of communication, AXE shows the women - girlfriends and wives - kissing or holding hands of the men, who a few seconds earlier were perceived as attackers/villains. Going a step further, the men display their love for the women in various ways and, in return, are rewarded by affection.

Throughout the video, #KissForPeace is prominently displayed to encourage people to talk about it on Twitter as well. Towards the end of the video, along with the slogan, the brand exhibits the logo of Peace One Day, which it has partnered for the campaign.

(Viral Now is a section about videos that are catching people's fancy on social media).