It takes a balls-out production ethic to stay on track when your first order of the day is cleaning up goose pellets and wading through algae-filled rivers until you've collected enough water to soak a bike path.

But that's how BBH, New York, and director Jeffrey Fleisig of LA's Biscuit Filmworks kicked off their latest work for Axe Essence body spray. Shot in a Toronto park on a shoestring $100,000 US, the two-spot national US campaign required the fanciest of footwork to stay within its budgetary boundaries.

"[Our producer] told me we'd go over budget if the taxi we took to the airport got stuck in traffic," recalls BBH group creative director William Gelner.

Other penny-pinching maneuvers included hotel and per diem restrictions that saw talent flown in for one night: as soon as the cast of one spot left, the next group arrived.

Then there was the aforementioned set-soaking, which entailed collecting water in buckets and water bottles (a water truck was too expensive), and throwing it onto the bicycle path.

Such restrictions bred ingenuity, as the director and crew had essentially one chance to get it right. Gelner says Fleisig "had a good handle how to pull off the spots with limited time and budget". What he pulled off was a couple of forward-and-reverse dialog spots that illustrate the duality of the male psyche.

Both "Bike" and "Restaurant" are inspired by the Axe Essence logo of two intertwined dragons, and play on the idea that at the core of every man is a good and a bad side.

"We came to the conclusion that on any date a guy has gone on, they always have to do and say certain things and live by this code. But there is this part of you that isn't revealed until later," says Gelner. "We came up with an executional device that uncovers that hidden truth, that true essence of every guy."

The two new spots each begin with a saccharine date scenario where a young man spouts date-proofed lines of affection. In "Restaurant" the man turns to his lady to say, "What a perfect night with the world's most perfectly perfect girl", while a waiter delivers a flambé dessert to the table. Halfway through, the scene is played in reverse, but this time, instead of offering dessert, the waiter whispers to the guy that oysters and chocolate should get the girl "in the mood", to which he replies, "Good, because I've just put a mattress in the back of the van."

"Bike" shows a couple setting off on a tandem ride for a date in the park. The guy tells the girl he likes the view of the lake. But in the replayed scene, he tells her that he likes the view of her rear.

If this sounds blatantly chauvinistic, it's no surprise. Considering that Axe's global brand strategy has gone something along the lines of 'Wear Axe, get laid', these spots - which sport the global tag "The Axe effect" - don't deviate from the norm.

"They're unapologetically sexist," says Fleisig, who says he was drawn to the "fearless and honest" scripts. "Everyone has experienced that kind of moment where they're in a restaurant that's too expensive and they're in over their head," he adds. "We wanted to play on that, but they're definitely tongue-in-cheek."