The Martin Agency wanted to use the song “Crumbs” by Jordan Dennis to bring the Axe spot to life, but the track wasn’t immediately affordable. We came into the collaboration to find a similar track with the same cool, light, fun feel as the original but instead aimed to secure the first choice. Our objective was to execute and approve the use of “Crumbs” at an

affordable fee by making the deal/use more enticing to the artist in the long run.

We worked together with The Martin Agency and Axe to create a playful, light-hearted ad that captures your attention while promoting the Axe Apollo body spray product. The teams aimed to create a piece that mixed live action filming with animated elements to tell the story of one man becoming irresistible because of the scent he gives off as he walks through the streets on a hot summer day.

When the agency reached out to us, they were conscious of the higher price tag involved with securing “Crumbs” for the Axe spot. They asked us to find a similar track by searching music libraries and other cheaper music sources. However, one of our team was able to negotiate a global license for a longer term (18 months) and secure additional scripts (for social/online influencer generated spots) that ended up being economically more exciting and less onerous for the brand in the long run.

In order to secure “Crumbs” by Jordan Dennis at an affordable price, we reached out to Jordan’s management directly, rather than going through various publishers. This was an important part of the execution since they still retained direct control of the work. This way, the teams avoided third party (publisher) hijacking prices. It took us one month to get the license in place and it ended up being a global campaign with multiple scripts and variations, all using the same track.

Overall, the Axe spot titled “The Walk” proved to be incredibly successful. The visual effects are incredible and the track perfectly captures the spirit of the ad. “Crumbs” by Jordan Dennis now has 6,150,190 Spotify streams and is outperforming all other songs by the artist by at least 5x. Following the release of the Axe spot, Spotify streams went up 1000%, Apple plays for the song increased 113%, there was a 274% increase in Shazams, YouTube plays went up 120% and Jordan Dennis’ Instagram channel saw a substantial increase in followers. Jordan’s team was also contacted by various major and indie labels after they saw the ad.