Procter & Gamble has launched its latest Gillette razor with an in-store virtual reality (VR) experience at supermarkets and pharmacies across Australia.

Designed by brand experience agency BEcause, the Gillette ProShield VR Experience aims to give Australian men an entertaining and immersive insight into the new razor, which features dual lubricating strips before and after the blades. It is one of the first times Procter & Gamble have used VR to promote the Gillette brand globally.

Participants in the VR experience find themselves on a virtual roller-coaster ride along a yellow lubrication strip, flying around a man shaving in his bathroom, before diving into his bristles in the path of a smooth close-up shave.

The campaign launched on 15 February, and will tour hundreds of Coles stores nationwide over the coming months, before being rolled out to pharmacies across the country. Up to 40 Gillette ProShield VR experiences will be live in store at any one time.

Ryan Edwards, assistant brand manager for Gillette at P&G, commented: “A lot of Australian men still don’t give much thought to their choice of razor or quality of shave, often just opting for lower priced disposable razors. We wanted to find an original way to really stand out and disrupt their shopping auto-pilot. Virtual reality delivers that in abundance. It’s a brilliant way to entertain and educate our target audience with something totally different in the market.”

Meredith Cranmer, founder and managing director of BEcause Brand Experience, commented: “Research shows 55 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women express a strong interest in experiencing VR. People are always curious about what they’re going to discover, and intensely focused on the brand experience whilst taking part. It’s a fun, unexpected and contemporary way of engaging consumers – and ideal for the kind of modern cutting edge male audience Gillette is trying to reach with this campaign.”