SHAVESUTRA

Short List
TitleSHAVESUTRA
BrandPROCTER & GAMBLE / GILLETTE
Product / ServiceMACH3 TURBO SENSITIVE RAZOR
CategoryB01. Consumer Products
EntrantCORPORATE VOICE | WEBER SHANDWICK New Dehli, INDIA
Entrant Company:CORPORATE VOICE | WEBER SHANDWICK New Dehli, INDIA
PR/Advertising Agency:CORPORATE VOICE | WEBER SHANDWICK New Dehli, INDIA

Credits

Name Company Position
Harsh Mehta Corporate Voice Weber Shandwick Group Account Director
Rhea D’Souza Corporate Voice Weber Shandwick Group Account Manager
Neha Manucha Corporate Voice Weber Shandwick Account Supervisor
Amanda Mendonza Corporate Voice Weber Shandwick Account Supervisor
Apoorva Maheshwari P&G Manager – External Relations
Sharat Verma P&G Marketing Manager
Aparna Bhawal P&G Media Manager
Josy Paul BBDO Chairman and National Creative Director
Raj Deepak Das BBDO Executive Creative Director
Domnic Fernandes Grips GM – Operations
Shyam Gursahani Encompass Client Servicing Manager
Shanti Khanna Globosport, India Manager – Client Servicing

The Campaign

P&G Gillette’s 2011 campaign ‘Shave Sutra' launched Gillette’s Mach3 Turbo Sensitive Razor in India. Evolving from two earlier Gillette campaigns, ‘Shave Sutra’ was built on the Nielsen insight that 72% Indian women find the act of shaving their men sexy. The 360° campaign used women influencers to present the new sensitive razor as capable of transforming the dull chore of shaving everyday into something that couples could enjoy together, by linking shaving strongly with romance and the mystique of attraction. Executed over two months, ‘Shave Sutra’ produced astonishing results. Gillette’s Mach3 Turbo Sensitive became (and remains) India’s highest selling razor, it won over 4 million new consumers, and the campaign created a Guinness World Record for the ‘World’s Largest Shaving Lesson’. The media outcomes were equally remarkable. In just two months, ‘Shave Sutra’ generated media coverage worth over USD 3.4 million, almost 500 exposures across high-reach media and 19.5 million digital interactions. Till date, the viral video at the heart of the campaign has been viewed more than 100,000 times. In all, the ROI on ‘Shave Sutra’ has been an astounding 1:14.

The Brief

OBJECTIVES: • Demonstrate that Indian women find clean-shaven men sexier and want men to shave daily; • Engage consumers in metros to drive the brand’s core proposition (designed for even men with sensitive skin to enjoy close, comfortable shaves); • Build a powerful consumer base RESEARCH: • Consumer feedback: Large sections of Indian men find it unpleasant to shave regularly because of irritation to sensitive areas of the face; • Gillette-commissioned Nielsen survey: 79% Indian women want their men to appear clean-shaven every day; 72% find the act of shaving their men sexy; 67% feel that men look sexier without ‘prickly men’s stubble’ (PMS).

Results

IMPACT: • Gillette Mach3 Turbo Sensitive has become India’s highest selling razor • Gillette India gained 4 million+ new consumers • Gillette India created a Guinness record for the ‘World’s Largest Shaving Lesson’ • ROI on campaign – 1:14 • ‘Shave Sutra’ won 2 Cannes PR Lions (Silver) • Campaign generated 19.5 million digital interactions • Viral video Shave Sutra has already been viewed 100,000+ times • Shave Sutra received free media coverage worth over USD 3.4 million • 473 + media exposures in high reach high impact media:  Print: 225 clips  Television: 44 exposures  Online: 204 exposures 90% media hits captured at least one key message.

Execution

Duration: Jan–Feb 2011 PHASE 1, ‘STOP PMS’: At a star-studded Mumbai press conference, three leading Indian actresses unveiled the Nielsen findings, launched Gillette’s new razor, insisted that men needed to shave daily, and urged both sexes to ‘Stop PMS’. PHASE 2, ‘WHAT WOMEN WANT’: Large numbers of women – celebrities and otherwise – answered the question ‘What Women Want’ through media exclusives, press meets and branded TV shows. The unanimous opinion: women want their men to shave daily, believe clean-shaven men are the most attractive, and find the thought of shaving their men sexy. PHASE 3, VIRAL VIDEO AND MALL ACTIVATION: A Shave Sutra viral video that showed a couple shaving together was distributed online, creating a massive buzz that was amplified by a mall activation program across 25 cities. PHASE 4, CREATING A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD: ‘Shave Sutra’ culminated in a Guinness world record for the ‘World’s Largest Shaving Lesson’ when 150 couples took the floor at a grand event in Delhi to learn to get ‘the perfect shave’.

The Situation

P&G Gillette’s campaign, ‘Shave Sutra', launched Gillette’s new Mach3 Turbo Sensitive razor in India. The campaign evolved from Gillette’s earlier creation of a national media debate around shaving, and its subsequent ‘Women Against Lazy Stubble’ movement. ‘Shave Sutra’ went a step further, using the Nielsen insight that 72% Indian women find the act of shaving their men sexy. It engaged women influencers to: • Associate shaving with romance and attraction • Present the Turbo Sensitive razor as capable of transforming shaving into an activity couples can enjoy together; • Persuade men to shave everyday as it made them sexier

The Strategy

STRATEGY: • Upscale the message: from ‘women prefer clean shaven men’ to presenting shaving as something couples can enjoy together • Demonstrate the new razor’s advantages and suitability for men with sensitive skin, leaving men with no reason not to shave daily Women would be particularly effective at driving both these points. Edgy phraseology, sustained brazenness, and the flavor of controversy would help build buzz. The campaign’s first two phases would develop the taglines ‘Stop PMS’ (grabbing attention as ‘PMS’ would surprisingly stand for ‘prickly men’s stubble’) and ‘What Women Want’ (linking female attraction to the desirability of clean-shaven men). Phase 3 would use a viral video, Shave Sutra to achieve widespread visibility and initiate consumer engagement events around India. Phase 4, the grand culmination, would aim for a media explosion by creating a Guinness world record for the ‘World’s Largest Shaving Lesson’.