The Brief

Over the past three years, Gillette had worked its way through to achieve market leadership in India. Our challenge was to further accelerate growth on an existing high base. Getting more men to shave in order to achieve this goal; seemed extremely difficult and expensive. So, we needed a creative solution that got men to shave more often! A Nielsen report revealed that 87% women prefer to go out with clean-shaven men in the evening. Thus was born a women's movement against 'Evening Stubble'. To effectively cascade this to our target-group, we needed an activation-based execution that could generate word-of-mouth.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We coined a term called 'Evening Stubble'. 'Evening stubble' got women got all fired up. They began to put pressure on men. They threatened to make men crave if they did not shave. Some went so far as to say that they would sleep in separate rooms. In response, Gillette launched the Fusion Gamer – a razor that makes shaving so comfortable, that men would enjoy shaving even twice a day. The razor was launched in a moving train in the evening by a group of home-bound men. Celebrities also got on board the train and this created explosive news.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The campaign received free media coverage worth over USD 4.1 million - the highest-ever in Gillette India history. • Over 3.5 billion free editorial media impressions. • Over 500 million digital impressions. • For the first time, Gillette India trended on twitter with #shaveorcrave becoming India's No.1 trend for over three days. • We witnessed India's biggest blogging outburst by women, with over 500 blogs and a reach of over 34 million. • Gillette India share grew by 1.2 points, reaching its highest ever share. • Sales went up by 16% in spite of an existing high base.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

The Fusion Gamer's 5 blade technology reduces pressure on your skin, making shaving effortless, even twice a day. Our creative solution leveraged this differentiating feature, thus making it relevant to our product. Also, Gillette's brand purpose is about helping men make a difference in their world. Our campaign clearly demonstrates how an 'evening shave' can create an everlasting impression on women and make a difference in world our men.