Gillette Podium
Procter & Gamble
Issue 26 | March 2013
Agency
BBDO New York
Creative Team
Chief Creative Officer: David Lubars Executive Creative Director: Toygar Bazarkaya Creative Directors: Brian Wiesenthal/Jake Shaw Art Director: Jake Shaw Copywriter: Brian Wiesenthal Executive Producer: Brian Mitchell
Production Team
Production Companies: CastaDiva Pictures/Hub+ London Director: Julian Benedikt
Other Credits
Account Director: Vincent Giamartino
Date
July 2012
Background
Gillette had created a special Limited Edition Olympic razor. The problem with promoting it was that every brand in the universe wanted to be noticed during the Olympics and getting attention in-store was even harder. Only the most compelling communication was going to break through the clutter and get noticed.
Idea
An Olympic-themed podium was built inside a large store in a provincial Bavarian town. Rows of the Limited Edition razor were displayed high above the podium so that the only way of reaching them was to climb up onto the #1 step.
When a man did this then surprise celebrations erupted with applauding characters emerging, confetti, music, everything that helped make the man feel like a champ (and, by the way, supporting Gillette’s position as No.1 in the market).
Hidden cameras captured the magic and created a viral video which was seen around the world.
Results
The video was seen on YouTube 2.2 million times during the Olympics. It was the #3 most-viewed video in Germany in the summer, #7 in YouTube Germany’s ‘Best Videos of 2012’ and it helped hike sales some 25% leading to nearly 50% growth in the consumer segment.
Our Thoughts
These are tough times for actors. Those who were never going to be Hollywood stars could often make a living by appearing in commercials but now even that form of livelihood is being taken from them as people turn away from the nicely written 30-second playlets and create set-ups with real people in real situations.
In a world of increasing ambiguity, we like to be bystanders at the experiences of others. The new words are ‘authenticity’ and ‘credibility’ as well as ‘charm’ and ‘engaging’ and this viral has all of those virtues and more.
Again, heartening to see that there is also a real correlation between the idea and sales. PC
There’s a bit of a trend happening here. Spend a small budget on an experiential idea, then create a film about it and let it loose into the paid-for blogosphere. Like every viral ambition, the more outré the experience, the bigger the audience. JA