The joy of shaving

Recently we were working on a project that involved shaving. A casual search in Youtube came up with this gem made by Lee Rubenstein.

Compare and contrast with Gillette’s recent TV ad. Roger Federer, Tiger Woods and Thierry Henry poncing around in black suits. Campaign Magazine in the UK voted it Turkey of the Year.
The amateur film has more wit, more surprise and more point than the spot that cost a million.
If an ad is rubbish, there’s every chance people will believe the product is rubbish too.

We are getting used to what used to be trusted brands becoming untrustworthy. Mercedes make cars that fall over, Ford make cars that have to be recalled because they crash, Nestle milk substitutes turn out to be harmful to babies. Cadbury’s CEO, Todd Stitzer, really thought that salmonella in his chocolate was not a problem.

What saved his brand from ruin was a gorilla on drums. Gillette need to find some charm as well. At the moment, every ad they run reveals the heartlessness of the organisation. In response, people are turning to brands that appear to have some sort of integrity. King of Shaves, for instance.

Last year, around $470 billion was spent on advertising that was somewhere between okay and appalling. That’s $470 billion which might actually be undermining the very brands that have been investing in communications.

At Adcademy we applaud creativity. Not because it’s nice to have but because
In these times of consumer opt-out it is essential. Creative brands want to touch people by sharing stuff – even if it’s just sharing a laugh.

Lee Rubenstein is a giver. Gillette, however, are on the take.