TO SHAVE OR NOT

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TitleTO SHAVE OR NOT
BrandPROCTER & GAMBLE
Product / ServiceGILLETTE MACH 3
CategoryC01. Best Use of Mixed Media
EntrantMEDIACOM INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Entrant Company:MEDIACOM INDIA Mumbai, INDIA
Media Agency:MEDIACOM INDIA Mumbai, INDIA

Credits

Credits

Name Company Position
Anupama Biswas Mediacom Senior Business Director
Alka Pillai Mediacom Group Head
Prasanna Kumar Mediacom Group Head
Neelkamal Sharma Mediacom Group Head
Mandir Tendolkar Mediacom Group Head
Harsha Joshi Mediacom Group Head
Pinaki Dutt Mediacom Regional Director
Archana Aggarwal Procter & Gamble Country Media Manager
Sumeet Vohra Procter & Gamble Marketing Director
Divya Gururaj Mediacom Managing Director

Results and Effectiveness

This powerful, radical & unique communication model, succeeded in delivering the highest ever sales for Gillette – an increase of 38%! Awareness doubled. Trial increased by a staggering 400%. And, 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: "This has been a very innovative, business building program with impact on brand equity and trials. It’s been an inspiring combination of educating and entertaining the consumer. It has helped Gillette achieve leadership in the blades segment".

Creative Execution

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 , sportstars,… & 12.2 mn Indians, all voted for a clean shave!

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

The Indian man’s traditional shaving device, the double-edged razor, could not be dislodged by newer & better shaving systems like the Gillette Mach3. Though they could afford Mach3, men did not see value in paying 10X premium for something that was a bathroom chore, occupying no mindspace. After a decade of presence in India, conventional product advertising & with no other competitor in sight, Gillette Mach3’s trials & sales were flat. For men to rationalize the price premium and switch to Mach3, the real challenge lay in combating their inertia & indifference to shaving. Indians were not passionate about shaving, but they were passionate about one thing. Voicing their opinion. Having a point of view. Thus was born our idea: “India Votes - To Shave or Not”. A debate that would force India to take a stance & get shaving out of bathrooms into chat-rooms!