This production was conceived of as a single global documentary to serve Unilever's markets worldwide, and thus considerations of branding regulations (whilst ensuring suitable visibility for AXE), local focus and language were paramount throughout. From a solely regulatory perspective, the physical brand visibility within the content had to be appropriate for markets such as the UK, France and Scandinavia, who operate strict on-screen branding restrictions. To ensure appropriate value for AXE, we had to construct a brand-illusory environment within the programme that delivered on the brand's key touchstones, creating an internationally relatable brand presence without violating market regulations.

Furthermore, our distribution remit was to place this content where possible solely on its editorial merit, so the documentary had to function as a strong piece of stand-alone storytelling with a cohesive narrative for over 180 global markets - whilst adhering to the regulatory and market sensitivities mentioned above.

The ‘Generation Astronaut’ documentary was produced for global TV broadcast, which served as the primary means of distribution and audience generation in over 180 countries.

Earned channels also served as audience drivers for the documentary, which told the story of 23 normal people winning the chance to go to space. The story caught the attention of global superstar Beyonce, who publicly congratulated our South African winner over facebook for being the first black African bound for space. The documentary also received media coverage from publications ranging from The Huffington Post to Maxim, generating over 1.9bn media impressions globally.

Over 2m people signed up for the program (vs. 35k entrants to Tourism Queensland’s ‘Best Job in the World’), 8m votes were cast and the hub site received 19m unique hits. The campaign has done well socially, gaining 25m video views and over 81m Facebook impressions.

The Space Camp event and the ‘Generation Astronaut’ documentary gained media coverage from the Huffington Post to Maxim, achieving 1.9bn impressions globally. The story even caught the attention of Beyonce, who publicly celebrated our South Africa winner via Facebook for being the first black African bound for space. The ‘Generation Astronaut’ documentary is now being shown on over 180 TV channels worldwide.

AXE Apollo now accounts for for up to 20% of the total brands €1.4bn turn-over, in key markets (US, Brazil, Mexico) Apollo is the most successful launch over the last 3 years, tracking 13%-17% higher than the previous best seller.