Gillette is focusing on women’s preferences towards chest hair styles in the brand’s new U.S. campaign for the Fusion ProGlide Styler. The promotion taglined “What Women Want” highlights three most common men’s below-the-neck grooming and briefly explains how to create them using the trimmer-razor hybrid, released in 2012 as a result of collaboration between Gillette and Braun. The promotion includes the “Get the Look Women Want” commercial by BBDO New York, which is already available on the brand’s YouTube channel. The push launches broadly across print, TV and online starting April 1.
The playful ad features a man walking among guests at the poolside party. He comes up to gorgeous female celebrities, asking them what chest hair styles they prefer. As it turns out, model Kate Upton likes when men have some chest hair, but never on the back, while TV hostess and actress Hannah Simone adores hairless stomachs to emphasize abs, and another actress Genesis Rodriguez prefers men completely hairless. The ad finishes with the voiceover saying “The ProGlide Styler. Trim, shave and edge. The one tool you need to get the look she wants.”
The promotion includes prints with QR codes, which enable users to learn how Kate, Hannah and Genesis like their men’s body styled. On scanning the code, a short video pops up on a smartphone screen where the girl from the print answers more questions related to the theme, including very personal ones. The prints reveal the girls’ attitudes in the bubbles, so users can literally read their minds. Gillette has also shoot a behind-the-scenes interview with the three ladies, in which they share their thoughts on the men’s body grooming.
The campaign has been inspired by the consumers’ belief that the men who remove hair at least over some parts of their bodies look more attractive. According to the survey conducted for the brand by Ipsos and Ketchum Global Research, 64% of male consumers aged 25 to 34 and 68% of men aged 18-24 shave or trim hair below the neck. With this, 74% of female respondents believe that men should groom some hair below the neck, and 69% of men confess that women influenced their decision to undertake such trimming. According to the research, grooming the groin is leading with 33%, followed by the chest (24%), abs (16%) and back (13%). Naturally, the commercial doesn’t directly touch on the area which is most frequently groomed.
Ladies’ preferences were also highlighted in “The Man Your man Could Look Like,” PG’s celebrated campaign for another male brand, Old Spice. Unlike its «mate,» Gillette has been appealing to men in its previous promotions. “While women have appeared in ads for Gillette throughout its century-plus history, the newest campaign is the first time that the brand has used them not just in support roles, but rather as spokeswomen,” writes The New York Times.
Photo: Print ads for the Gillette Fusion ProGlide Styler, www.nytimes.com