The Campaign

A national debate divided India with one question on the mind of millions. To shave or not? The traditional shaving device, the double-edged razor, couldn't be dislodged by newer shaving systems like Gillette Mach3. Men did not see value in paying a10X premium for something that was a bathroom chore & occupied no mindspace. After a decade of presence in India, Gillette Mach3’s trials & sales were flat. For men to rationalize the price premium and switch to Mach3, the real challenge lay in turning their indifference in shaving to interest. Indians were certainly passionate about one thing. Voicing their point of view. If only there is way to convert their indifference to a subject that they had to have an opinion on... Thus was born our idea : “India Votes - To Shave or Not”. A debate that get shaving out of bathrooms into chat-rooms!

Success of the Campaign

This powerful, radical & unique communication model, succeeded in delivering the highest ever sales for Gillette – an increase of 38%! 12.2 million Indians gave their vote for a clean shave. Awareness doubled. Trial increased by a staggering 400%. Market share increased by 35%. Shantanu Khoshla, Managing Director, P&G India Well done. Great idea and excellent execution. Clearly a big driver of the record Mach 3 share Sumeet Vohra, Marketing Director, P&G India The program has been a very innovative, business building program that has had impact on brand equity and trials. It’s been an inspiring combination of educating and entertaining the consumer. This program has helped Gillette achieve leadership in the blades segment.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

We commissioned the first ever ‘shaving’ survey through AC Nielsen. Provocative questions like ‘do women prefer clean-shaven men’, ‘are clean-shaven men more successful’ etc, created immediate interest & hit primetime news. As expected, people were ready with their point of view! And the Great Indian Shaving Debate was on. • For 8 weeks, leading TV news & radio stations ran celebrity interviews, panel discussions & news stories. • Newspapers & men’s magazines carried editorial features & reader polls. • In a PR event, two Bollywood stars shaved off their famous stubbles in front of the media. • Live polling was conducted in malls, gyms, cinemas and offices. Here people were offered a chance to try Mach3 • All media directed people to www.toshaveornot.com to cast their vote. In an unprecedented frenzy, Bollywood stars, business tycoons, sport stars,… & women, all voted for a clean shave!