AXE® & Marvel Collaborate To Create A New Team Of Super Heroes: The Fresh-Men

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., July 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Inspired by AXE's new Ice Chill products, AXE and Marvel have joined forces to create a new set of super heroes, The Fresh-Men -- a collective of seemingly normal high-school students with super abilities meant to inspire teens everywhere to stay chill. These new heroes show how young guys and girls are their most confident and attractive when they're confidently cool.

Starting today, AXE and Marvel fans will be able to watch this crew in action in the first chapter in an all new five-part video comic series online at AXE.com/Marvel. The Fresh-Men is a story that takes place at the Future Minds School of Science & Technology, one of the Wakanda outreach academies for inner city youth.  

Working together to use their hidden powers for good (and fun) while navigating their own complex high-school world, the stories follow:

• Damian Garcia (Burner) ? Damian is fireproof and can generate heat biologically, blasting projectiles of fire from his hands.
• Alyssa Jordan (Windchill) ? Alyssa generates cold, which manifests as wind or ice. She can also make water from the moisture in the air, or steam if she works together with Damian's fire powers.
• Danny Lee (Kid Vanish) ? Danny can make himself invisible, and while in this state he can pass through most solid objects. This power conflicts sharply with his desire to be the center of attention.
• Emily Everheart (Override) ? Emily has the power of communication. The nanobots coursing through her blood enable her to understand and speak any language on Earth ? including computer languages.
• Tyrell Taylor (Doubletime) ? A superior athlete, Tyrell can either move really fast or slow down time, depending on who you ask.

Making a cameo in the comics is rapper and actor, SuperDuperKyle, who previously partnered with AXE for its high school Senior Orientation program. KYLE will be joining AXE and Marvel at San Diego's biggest annual comic and pop culture festival at the Interactive Zone on July 20^th to meet fans, introduce The Fresh-Men and sign copies of the limited-edition comic book alongside the AXEmobile.

The Fresh-Men comic will also have an exclusive, complementary new soundtrack, produced in partnership with Mass Appeal - The Fresh-Men Mixtape featuring Dave East, Kodie Shane, 070 Phi, D Savage, Louis IV and Akilz Amari with original songs inspired by the characters and their superpowers. Fans can stream the mixtape starting today on Spotify and at axe.com/marvel.

Today's fans are constantly eager for more content from their favorite stories through numerous formats, whether it's live shows, digital streaming, mobile games, print activations, and more. At the same time, the media landscape continues to get more fragmented and offer more ad-free options. Inspired by proprietary research (a part of media agency Mindshare's Media Dystopia series that explores the power of franchise properties, fandom, and interconnected stories) and work by AXE, the brand is providing fans more content and experiences from their favorite stories that connect with consumers in a deeper way.  

"Comic books are awesome storytelling vehicles for our teen fans, so working with Marvel was a no-brainer. AXE believes attraction and confidence are powers guys can tap into everyday to be their best selves, so creating a team of young super heroes who routinely flex that confidence when facing adversity is a perfect way to reinforce this belief to our guys," said, Mark Lodwick, Brand Director of AXE. "Also by creating a mixtape, we drew on our fans love of hip hop to further explore these characters and extend the experience, fun and enjoyment of the Fresh-Men to our fans."   

To stay up-to-date on The Fresh-Men, to stream the mixtape and be the first to know about exciting offers from AXE, follow @AXE on Twitter, Instagram and visit axe.com/marvel. Fans who sign up with their email address on the AXE website will receive a free 30-day trial subscription to Marvel Unlimited*, where fans can unlock the Marvel Universe and get access to 25,000+ comics.

*Must be 18 years or older to open a Marvel Unlimited account. Cancel anytime. Offer expires 10/31/19. Valid on monthly memberships only. First month billed at $0; subsequent months billed monthly to the payment card on file at the then-current monthly subscription fee (currently $9.99 per month) unless and until cancelled. Auto-renewal and other terms and conditions apply.

PRESS CONTACT
Victoria Kwan
[email protected]
(212) 819-4870

About AXE^®
AXE, the No. 1 men's fragrance brand in the world*, champions individuality and self-expression by encouraging guys to embrace their personal style. With a full line of grooming products including daily fragrance sprays, deodorants, anti-perspirants, shower gels, shampoos and styling products, AXE gives guys the tools to express what makes them unique, authentic and ultimately attractive to the world around them. Visit AXE at AXE.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook to get access to exclusive content, special promotions, and more.

*Source Euromonitor International Limited; Beauty and Personal Care 2017 edition; as per Men's Deodorants & Men's Fragrances retail value sales combined; UBN; 2016 data; Lynx includes all AXE/Lynx/Ego sales

About Unilever North America
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. In the United States and Canada, the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry's, Breyers, Degree, Dollar Shave Club, Dove, Hellmann's, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Love Beauty and Planet, Magnum, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Pure Leaf, Q-tips, Seventh Generation, Simple, Sir Kensington's, St. Ives, Suave, Talenti Gelato & Sorbetto, TAZO, TIGI, TRESemmé and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies.

Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) underpins the company's strategy and commits to:

• Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
• Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
• Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.

The USLP creates value by driving growth and trust, eliminating costs and reducing risks. In 2018, the company's Sustainable Living Brands grew 69% faster than the rest of the business, compared to 46% in 2017.

Since 2010 we have been taking action through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to help more than a billion people improve their health and well-being, halve our environmental footprint and enhance the livelihoods of millions of people as we grow our business. We have already made significant progress and continue to expand our ambition ? most recently committing to ensure 100% of our plastic packaging is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. While there is still more to do, we are proud to have been recognized in 2018 as sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and as the top ranked company in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders survey, for the eighth-consecutive year. 

For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com 
For more information on Unilever Canada and its brands visit: www.unilever.ca 
For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/  

About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media.

For more information visit marvel.com.  © 2019 MARVEL

Mass Appeal
Mass Appeal is an entertainment company on a mission to represent and progress urban culture on a global scale. Since 1996, the brand has been documenting youth-born movements worldwide. Today, Mass Appeal is the dominant voice in urban culture. The company continues to elevate the conversation through premium, integrated offerings in original content, music, creative services and digital media.

SOURCE AXE