Unilever brand Lynx will be sending a consumer into space as part of a £12.6m marketing push fronted by astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

The campaign, which kicked off last night (10 January) with a TV ad that will run until April, is to support the Lynx Apollo variant launched last year.

The campaign will include a Lynx ‘Space Academy’ shuttle travelling to the Westfield Shopping in Shepherd’s Bush, plus digital activity that lets consumers use their mobile phones to project their face onto a giant inflatable astronaut. There will also be interactive bus-shelters that will allow consumers to see their faces appear on the Lynx Apollo ads.

Consumers can enter the competition by posting a message on the Lynx Apollo website explaining why they should be the one to go into space. The 200 entrants with the highest number of votes  will attend The Lynx ‘Space Academy’, with four winners sent to a space camp in Florida  to participate in tests and challenges that will result  in one winner being chosen to go into space

 “The Lynx Apollo launch is by far our largest marketing campaign to date,” said Lynx brand manager Mark Aschmann. “Alongside the competition, we will be carrying out a number of ground breaking marketing activities to raise awareness of the campaign to drive traffic to the website.”