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Adam Scott, in the crucial moments before filming a scene, is preoccupied with his grooming, not his lines, and that’s a problem even before he launches into a story about his dad’s full and fabulous beard.
The actor—an affable scene-stealer known for Parks and Recreation, Party Down and Severance—is starring as himself in an ad for Philips Norelco, sitting in a makeup chair and waxing on about his facial hair heroes. The crew member trying to get him to focus on the upcoming shoot needs to talk script, not scruff, but he’s having no luck.
It’s the kind of awkwardly endearing exchange that fans have come to expect from Scott, who recently kicked off a partnership with Philips Norelco centered on a 60-second ad for the OneBlade electric shaver. (The brand calls him a “facial hair enthusiast.”)
The deal, which will include future content around Father’s Day, back to school and Christmas, is part of the brand’s effort to “empower people to define their unique styles with confidence,” according to Rafael Viestel da Silva, marketing director of Philips Grooming and Beauty.
Scott said he’s been a brand loyalist for years, after learning about the OneBlade from makeup artists on his various jobs. The outreach from Philips Norelco was “sheer coincidence” but perfectly organic, giving him a chance to use some real-life experiences as fodder for the marketing program.
As he says in the video, Scott learned to shave by watching movies and TV shows. (And his father really did, and does, have a handsome beard).
“There was not a lot of shaving in my house while I was growing up, so my perception of it was largely formed through movies and TV–one of my favorites was James Spader shaving in a gas station bathroom in Sex, Lies and Videotape,” Scott told Adweek. “As a teenager, that looked so cool to me, and I just wanted to emulate guys like that.”
Scott, a veteran endorser for Black Box Wines, Audi, Smirnoff and Expensify’s first Super Bowl ad, among others, spoke to Adweek about the new campaign and its creative process, his litmus test for agreeing to brand gigs and the dangers of overexposure.
ADWEEK: How did the creative for the Phillips Norelco spot come together between the brand, you, director Jesse Peretz and writer Chris Kelly?
Adam Scott: Philips Norelco gave us a wide berth to come up with the idea—they were super collaborative and encouraging. [Chris and Jesse and I] had a series of conversations, the brand recorded them and printed out the text. Chris picked and chose what he thought would work and formed the spots out of them. We got on set, Chris and I improvved a bunch, and Jesse cut it together.
With many brands approaching you, what criteria do you use to assess an endorsement opportunity?
The brand needs to be something I could see myself or my family using in our daily lives, and something that’s within the realm of the lifestyle that I happen to lead. A large part is if I think people out there would enjoy and benefit from it. And that the company itself is treating the world around it responsibly—that’s another important piece.
How important is creative input in your decision?
It’s important, but if something comes fully formed, and I think it’s great and ready to go, then of course. But in this circumstance, they came with a loose idea of what they wanted to do, but wanted the input and wanted to see what other creative people could bring on board. It was by far the best experience I’ve had with a brand—the collaboration was really open, but also the parameters were really clear. From here on out, I feel like I know what the ideal situation could and should be.
How would you gauge commercial overload?
We’ve all seen people become a bit oversaturated and maybe endorse an amount of products that might be excessive. The thing you wouldn’t want to do is advocate for so many different brands and products that you render it meaningless. It’s good and more meaningful if you set a ceiling so you’re not all over the place all the time. You don’t want people to get sick of you or sick of what you’re out there trying to endorse. If there are too many [ads], it’s hard to differentiate between them and they start to lose their potency.
Have you considered following in the footsteps of Ryan Reynolds, Terry Crews and other actors who have opened their own ad shops?
I’ve never really thought about it, but I can see why people have done it. I think it’s a really fun, creative world to be a part of, but it’s never been a particular ambition of mine.
What’s next for you and could there be a season 4 of Party Down?
I hope there’s a next season, I think that would be really, really fun and we’d all love to do it. It’s a matter of appetite from Starz and whether we can align everybody’s schedules again, which was a herculean feat we were able to pull off for the last season. Season 2 of Severance will be coming, and I can’t wait for people to see it.
