Dollar Shave Club launched a new in-house campaign, following up on its broadcast debut last November by taking aim at competitor Gillette’s promise of blades which last a month by taking a look at some gross, grimy razor blades.
In “Jacques the Filthy Razor,” for example, a man’s anthropomorphized blade tells him in a stereotypical French accent that it’s time to shave. When he objects that he’s been using the blade for weeks and it’s crusty and smell bad, he replies, “Crusty like a baguette…and the smell is very natural.” As in previous ads for the brand, founder and CEO Michael Dubin (a former improv comic) appears in each of the ads to inform viewers of the company, stating in each of the spots, “Don’t shave with a filthy razor because new ones are so expensive. Dollar Shave Club, amazing razors for a few bucks — shave with a fresh blade, anytime.” Other ads in the campaign imagine old razors as “Zeke the Dirtbag Razor,” a “Tub Terror” and something resembling a gross bug in “Razor Escapes.”
In each spot the message is clear, people are afraid to buy new razors because they’re too expensive, even though they should really get rid of their old one, and Dollar Shave Club provides the solution. The message takes implied aim at Gillette’s promise of razors which last a month, promising that Dollar Shave Club is a better (and more hygienic) solution to the problem of keeping down razor costs. Maybe it’s just because we bearded Agency Spy folk don’t shave all that often, but the ads seem to exaggerate the cost of razors to the point where it may limit their effectiveness.
Credits:
Client: Dollar Shave Club
Writers:
Michael Dubin, Founder and CEO, Dollar Shave Club
Alec Brownstein, Creative Director, Dollar Shave Club
Director: Aaron Stoller, Biscuit Filmworks
Producer: Linda Rafoss and Maggie Dunn, Zebra NYC
Production Company Credits:
Managing Director: Shawn Lacy
Executive Producer: Holly Vega
Director: Aaron Stoller
Producer: Mala Vasan