Avon teams up with the Ironman triathlon competition for male grooming launch

Avon is planning to extend its reach into the male grooming market with the global launch of a range of new products. It has tied up with worldwide triathalon competition, Ironman, to create the Ironman Fragrance Collection.

The line, which includes an eau de toilette spray, after-shave conditioner and anti-perspirant, will be unveiled next week at the Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. It will be initially introduced in the UK, Brazil and Australia in April 2009, with a US launch to follow in May or June.

American Ironman winner Matt Miller has been drafted in as the brand ambassador. An Avon spokesman says Miller will bring “both his physical prowess and charitable spirit to the brand”.

Ad campaigns will use the strapline “Anything is Possible”, which is also the mantra of the Ironman competitions. The bottle for the signature fragrance will incorporate a lid designed to look like a bike grip – one of the disciplines featured in the events.

The spokesman adds the collaboration with Ironman is driven by its “global scope”. Avon supplies women’s beauty products in more than 100 countries, mainly through its “Avon Ladies” who sell door-to-door and online. The company only has a limited number of male products.

Earlier this year, it launched the fragrance U by Ungaro for Him, and a female version called U by Ungaro for Her. The range features Avon’s global ambassador, Reese Witherspoon, in print and television advertising.