At first it was March Madness. Now there’s April silliness.
Getting in on the April Fools’ gags — at least we hope so — athletic brand Reebok caught sneaker lovers and CrossFitters by surprise this morning with what appears to be a campaign announcing its faux fragrance called Swět.
The humorous premise is that you can smell like sweat any time, anywhere. The fake scent celebrates “the effort that goes into each and every workout. With swět, the greatest scent in the world no longer has to be temporary.”
The Canton, Mass.-based brand, which has been struggling to recapture its athletic glory under Adidas, even put together campaign images, a 15-second teaser video and a quote from a top marketing executive.
“There are countless other fragrances out there, from celebrity scents to designer colognes, but none that captures the unadulterated aroma of fitness,” said Yan Martin, Reebok’s vice president of global brand communications. “Our first fragrance is something real that you can wear every day. It has a powerful profile, bursting with top notes of salt and underscored by a rich vinegary base. Why smell like woodlands, meadows and lilies when you can smell of human?”
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While the make-believe campaign strikes a funny note — and even drove social media traffic and brand engagement — we think the company will have better luck with its more serious marketing initiative for the recently released ZPump. The commercials for the shoe debuted March 8, and star UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Jon “Bones” Jones.
