How exactly does a world-famous cricketing hero and a Hollywood movie star wind up appearing in the same shaving commercial?
The story behind the new Gillette spot can be traced back to April 2021, when the brand reached out to Havas Sports and Entertainment (HSE) to craft a TVC for their two new razors.
The Gillette ProGlide razor offers the user an even closer shave due to its unique flex-ball technology which follows the contours of the face, while the Gillette SkinGuard razor has been uniquely designed to reduce skin irritation and flare-ups, a common issue for many men post-shave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0KfAJm-IyM
“The rationale was that with two different razors, we needed two equally different stars.” said Mat Robinson, brand director at Gillette ANZ.
“It was, in many ways, a tough brief for HSE. We had a cricketer and a comedian, each representing two different Gillette products, and we needed it to work across a 30-second and two 15-second spots.
“Pat was to be the face of the Gillette ProGlide razor, while Julian was to represent Gillette SkinGuard. Importantly, we had to dial up each razor’s differing product benefits while still utilising humour and connecting to the brand’s target audience.”
The spots were shot across different countries at different times, and see Dennison as Gillette’s self-proclaimed ‘new supermodel’ who is incessantly bugging Cummins via a comedically ill-timed Facetime call.
Over the course of the three different spots, Dennison calls up Cummins to demand tips from him on shaving properly (the 30-second), then again to brag about his newfound shaving prowess (the first 15-second) and then, lastly, as a self-appointed shaving expert, to direct Cummins in a new Gillette TVC (the second 15-second).
“Our ECD and team decided to riff on a common comedic trope,” said Francis Coady, CMO and executive producer at Havas Media/HSE,
“Namely, the over-eager student versus the reluctant mentor; and while it’s all very ‘meta’, all three TVCs came out very funny in the end.”
Robinson added, “We’re confident Gillette consumers are going to love the chemistry that was captured between Pat and Julian.”
The new Gillette spots will feature across the commercial television networks and online throughout Australia and New Zealand from March 2022.
CREDITS
CLIENT: Gillette
GILLETTE APAC & CATEGORY HEAD: Karthik Srivatsan
GILLETTE BRAND DIRECTOR: Mathew Robinson
GILLETTE & VENUS SENIOR BRAND MANAGER: Rachel Morota Chu
GILLETTE PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Syamin Arif
AGENCY: Havas Sports & Entertainment (a division of Havas Media Group)
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Francis Coady
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR, SCRIPTWRITER: Nick Snelling
HEAD OF CONTENT: Belinda Miller
SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR & PRODUCER: Patrick Millington Buck
DIRECTOR: Zak Kaczmarek
PRODUCTION (AUSTRALIA): Chisel
LINE PRODUCTION (NEW ZEALAND): Reel Factory
