Gillette’s Deeply Touching Film About a Son Helping His Elderly Father Shave Takes Home Cannes Gold

When seeking creative awards show honors, there’s nothing quite like mining the bond between parents and their children.

A new ad by Gillette and Grey New York, which debuted before this year’s Cannes Lions festival, has proven that maxim with the touching tale of Kristian Rex, a New Jersey man tasked with caring for his elderly father.

The senior Rex is a former boat captain who suffered a stroke rendering him unable to complete the most basic daily tasks—like shaving his own face. What follows is a three-minute tribute to the connection between three generations of Rex men including Kristian, his father and his own son.

It’s a classic story made all the more effective by intimate shots of a vulnerable, formerly powerful man struggling to bathe in the sort of scene that will feel familiar to almost anyone with aging parents.

As Gillette notes on the campaign home page, this short film doubles as an introduction to TREO, described as “the first-ever razor designed solely for assisted shaving” for use by caregivers and individuals who’ve lost the ability to safely shave themselves.

So far, the work has picked up six Lions: four in the Health and Wellness category, one in Promo and Activation and one in Non-Fiction Entertainment. That haul includes three gold, two silver and one bronze.

CREDITS

Agency: Grey New York
Client: Gillette
Campaign: Handle with Care

Procter & Gamble
VP, Marketing: John Mang
Brand Manager: Sushant Trivedi Procter & Gamble Brand Manager Client
VP, Research & Development: Melissa Monich Procter & Gamble  Client
Principal Design Engineer: Matthew Hodgson Procter & Gamble  Client
Associate Director, Communications: Kara Buckley

Grey New York
Chief Creative Officer: Andreas Dahlqvist
Executive Creative Director: Leo Savage
Executive Creative Director: Jeff Stamp
EVP, Account Director: Brian Weston
SVP, Account Director: Elizabeth Meny
VP, Account Director: Gabi Newton
Account Supervisor: Robyn Hendel

Production: Townhouse
President: Bennett McCarroll
SVP, Head of Integrated Production: James McPherson
VP, Producer: Katy Hill

Production: Humble
Director/Cinematographer : Rudi Schwab
President/Founder: Eric Berkowitz
Executive Producer: Mark Kovacs
Director of Operations: Jason Mayo
Producer: Kevin Comer
Head of Production: Natalie Warkenthien

Patrick Coffee

@PatrickCoffee

Patrick Coffee is a senior editor for Adweek.