Axe Excite: Even Angels Will Fall

Rupert Sanders directs the stunning new Axe Excite commercial through BBH London, with the help of gleaming post by The Mill. Beautiful angels fall from the heavens to seek out the man wearing the deodorant, all to the sound of of Air's Sexy Boy, covered by a 35-strong female choir and created by Boutique music agency, Tonic.

The most recent addition to the Lynx/Axe canon of work comes in the shape of BBH’s Even Angels Will Fall, shot by MJZ’s Rupert Sanders. Following a group of heavenly bodies as they’re seduced by the scent of Lynx, the spot has the usual mix of humour and beauty.

The same can also be said of the ad’s music, which gives it an epic feel while not taking itself too seriously. Here, Susan Stone, founder of creative music agency Tonic, explains how they came up with the idea to record a choral version of French band Air’s famous track, Sexy Boy.

“The direction to record a choral cover of a classic track wasn’t there from the get-go. We first explored everything from experimental opera to indie to spaghetti western scores, even bassline remixes of classical tracks. We learned three things: Going high-brow and classical wasn’t funny enough. Going ‘cool’ felt contrived. No dialogue/voiceover for 90 seconds means the track needed to work its tail off in telling the story. What was a real eureka moment was thinking about the point of view for the track and featuring lyrics that make it about the guy, instead of the angels. As soon as we turned it around it made sense. I also thought the track worked really well because the French lyrics are mysteriously familiar, and yet don’t give it away immediately, which is especially important for longer cinema versions. When the English lyrics kick in just as the angels are approaching their victim, it’s so over the top and to the point, the chorus does all the work.”