A tweet from Axe about the Capitol riots is being heavily mocked, but the deodorant brand doesn’t see this as a laughing matter.
After Washington Post reporter Mike DeBonis tweeted that a “lonely can of Axe body spray” had been left at the Capitol by the mob, the Unilever brand used the opportunity to opine on the situation.
“We'd rather be lonely than with that mob,” Axe tweeted. “Axe condemns yesterday's acts of violence and hate at the Capitol. We believe in the democratic process and the peaceful transition of power.”
We'd rather be lonely than with that mob. AXE condemns yesterday's acts of violence and hate at the Capitol. We believe in the democratic process and the peaceful transition of power. https://t.co/vX727ZfvS8
— AXE (@AXE) January 7, 2021
The tweet immediately went viral, with Twitter users poking fun at it. One user referred to the brand as “woke deodorant,” following its tweet.
Oh shit... here comes the “Woke Deodorant” crowd responses. They’re going to try and get Axe cancelled after bemoaning cancel culture “tO oWn ThE LiBz” ???? https://t.co/c4ltkOdAGh
— Samuel Smith (@Smiffer511) January 8, 2021
2016: Maybe it won't be that bad
— Rob (@robrousseau) January 8, 2021
2021: the Axe Body Spray Corporation stands firmly against the attempted overthrow of the US government
THANK GOD Axe body spray weighed in. I once again feel comfortable enough to coat myself in your glorious musk to pull tail at Walmart.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) January 8, 2021
Axe...welcome to the resistance
— Ayan Chatterjee (@goayango) January 8, 2021
But the brand stands behind the tweet.
Axe parent Unilever told PRWeek that “it’s not lost on us that it was unexpected for Axe to weigh in on this conversation.”
The Unilever spokesperson explained that when DeBonis shared the image, Axe wanted to make clear where it stands.
“There should be no ambiguity when it comes to violence and hate,” the spokesperson said. “As we said in our tweet, we believe in the democratic process and the peaceful transition of power.”
This story first appeared on PRWeek US.