null - Sid Lee and AXE Canada push young men to turn society’s vision of “masculinity” on its head with the PRAISE UP campaign

AXE Canada created a social challenge for young guys that gets them to stop and think about - and ultimately defy - how society says “a man” should act. The purpose of Praise Up was to remind the impressionable Gen Z audience to own the magic in themselves by pointing it out in others. The activation co-opted their natural social media behaviours to enable them to complement each other in a meaningful, but still funny and “masculine” way. It’s a sad reality that guys don’t often tell each other what they mean to each other; giving compliments is not something that’s been a culturally-appropriate for men to do. Fortunately, attitudes are changing. But expressing their individuality on social media still comes with social risks. Teens’ hyper-self-awareness makes them attuned to their own thoughts and feelings, but are only inspired when peers act first and results are evidenced. They still like – and need – to receive validation on their attractiveness (both physical and emotional) from others on these platforms. So AXE Canada decided to take the first step in proving to teens that it’s very easy and attractive to be a man who’s compassionate and supportive of their friends. Participating was easy. Guys could give their best buds a shout out for their wit, hair, honesty, spontaneity, unique skills – whatever their magic may be. They would then post the video to Snapchat, share it on Instagram Stories, Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #YouGotSomething and challenging their friends to do the same. To help drive participation, we partnered with big-name, real-life friends to be examples – NBA star Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors and MLB pitcher Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays. We created six 0:10 second social videos, shot to look native to Snapchat – the preferred platform for Gen Z (12-22) males to express themselves the most authentically. AXE Canada created six 0:10 second videos with our influencers, showing our audience how to participate, and giving each other props for the qualities that make each of these all-stars great. The videos were placed on Snapchat Discover and a Toronto Raptors Live Story during their hyped first playoff game, as well as promoted on Twitter and Instagram through Lowry and Stroman, leveraging their reach and the power of their fan-bases to get the message across to teens in an impactful and engaging way.