He missed out on a gold medal in Tokyo by an agonising 0.06 seconds, but champion swimmer Kyle Chalmers can clearly see the funny side!
The 23-year-old South Australian was announced as the new brand partner for Wahl, Australia’s premium grooming brand, and appears in a humorous television ad that pokes fun at his Tokyo heartbreak by showing him again finishing a race in second place ‘by a hair’.
His mental strength ‘coach’, Kerry Labouf, played by stand-up comic Dave Eastgate, assures him he’d have won if only he’d trimmed down with his Wahl Waterproof Stainless Steel trimmer!
Chalmers, who won gold in the 100m freestyle at the Rio games in 2018, said the best way to deal with disappointment is through laughter.
“I was gutted when I realised I’d missed out on gold by only 0.06 seconds,” he said, “but very proud that I’d battled back from shoulder surgery to win silver.”
“When Wahl told me about the ad, I thought it was hysterical. Maybe I would have won gold if I’d trimmed my face a bit closer!”
“I love the character of Kerry – he may be completely over the top, but I’ve met a few trainers who are almost as extreme!”
https://youtu.be/I99QVRWPL_o
Chalmers will promote Wahl’s range of beard trimmers, hair clippers, shavers and massagers, all exclusive to Shaver Shop, for the next two years.
“I was already a big fan of Wahl,” Chalmers said, “so this was a great opportunity to showcase its products to as many people as possible.”
“ I’ve always been very focused on being the very best I possibly can be, and that’s their philosophy too.”
The TVC concept is the brainchild of Wahl’s head of marketing, Brett Clulow, who knew that Chalmers would be the perfect brand champion.
“He’s one of our greatest sporting heroes,” he said.
“The whole country united to cheer him on in the final. To come back from a major injury and swim one of the fastest 100m in Olympic history was just breathtaking.”
“He was such a good sport when I showed him the idea for the campaign. Wahl is all about the closest of trims and expert grooming management, and Kyle really did come second ‘by a hair’,” Clulow added.
The 30 and 60 second ads feature the Wahl Waterproof Stainless Steel trimmer, engineered so anyone can perform at their personal best.
They will be broadcast from across social media with the TVC campaign launching 20 November and will be supported by digital, social media and PR featuring a national competition to find Australia’s craziest beard, judged by Chalmers.
“Since Wahl signed Kyle, he has gone on to smash his personal best to win the 100m Freestyle at the FINA World Cup in Bucharest,” Clulow said.
“We are proud that the Wahl technology specially engineered to help anyone perform at their very best can ensure that Kyle shaves his time to secure that win and we look forward to supporting Kyle in the lead up to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the 2024 Paris Olympics to continue to perform at his absolute best,” he added.
Clulow has worked as marketing growth expert for 20 years across airlines, food and the drinks industries. Clulow is the brains behind Racing Queensland’s Summer and Winter Carnival and oversaw the rebrand from Virgin Blue to Virgin Australia.
He even managed to bring Jagermeister’s cold weather brilliance to the hot shores of Australia and successfully grew a range of liquor brands in Australia.
