Harry's Explores Manhood in Rare Tear-Jerker Razor Ad

GSD&M Created Film About a Fatherless Boy

Published On
Feb 26, 2018

Editor's Pick

After helping redefine the razor market with value-priced razors sold mostly online, Harry's is going a different route as well with its advertising.

In a campaign from new agency GSD&M, Austin, that launches Monday, a 3-minute video follows a fatherless boy who teaches a space alien the definition of "manhood." The tear-jerker spot, an unusual approach for the category, focuses on the boy as he teaches the alien typically macho ways of dressing, walking and, of course, shaving. He then asks the visitor if he's seen his missing father (apparently an astronaut) up in space, and when given a sad look in response, his strong facade crumples a bit and he admits, "The truth is, there's no one way to be a man."

Procter & Gamble's Gillette--which owns the lion's share of the U.S. and global razor business despite inroads by the likes of Harry's, and which tends to have more straightforward work--also took a narrative approach in Father's Day "stunt" ads in which boys who were used to asking the internet their questions were put into a room where they had to ask their dads.

Harry's spent most of the past year with TV ads from Partners & Spade, which continues to work on the account. That creative focused on founders and co-CEOs Jeff Raider and Andy-Katz Mayfield, and how they started the company.

"We're five years old, and I think we've done a pretty good job of introducing ourselves," says VP of Marketing Lorna Peters. "Now we want guys to understand what we care about and recognize their voice in Harry's values."

"When we started Harry's, one of the things that didn't resonate with us was other brands in the space telling us we had to be the perfect guys, be the best and have a perfect jaw line, be an expert in shaving and stand there looking in a mirror with six-pack abs," says Raider.

Harry's purpose is "to be part of the conversation about what it means to be a man," says Jay Russell, chief creative officer of GSD&M, an issue he says has even more resonance in the wake of Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement.

Harry's will expand the campaign with additional work from the Washington Post's WP BrandStudio, Peters says.

Besides the founder ads, Harry's has spent much of the past year using heavy digital display advertising to counter Gillette ads that claim most Harry's users drop out shortly after trying the value-priced products. Those ads followed Harry's move into Target, which helped fuel its gains on Gillette. An analysis by 1010data in October found Harry's has been gaining e-commerce share in the U.S. on Gillette and rival Unilever's Dollar Shave Club.

Credits

Date
Feb 26, 2018
Brand :
Harry's
Client :
Harry's
Agency :
GSD&M
Creative Director :
Luke Crisell
Design Director :
Mickey Pangilinan
Senior Associate Creative Projects :
Maia Collette
Creative Producer :
Maddy Boardman
Chief Creative Officer :
Jay Russell
Creative Director/ Copywriter :
Brandon Curl
Creative Director, Art Director :
Dale Austin
Creative :
Kevin Lane
Creative :
Verenice Lopez
Creative :
Justin Han
Creative :
Ryan Warner
Director, Production :
Jack Epsteen
Senior Producer :
Carolyn Casey
Project Manager :
Christie Lyons-Shepard
Account Lead :
Christie Lyons-Shepard
Chief Marketing Officer :
J.B. Raftus
Strategy :
John DAcierno
Strategy :
Nick Howard
Media :
Sabrina Jordan
Media :
Phillip Brady-Joyner
Production Company :
Slim Pictures
Executive Producer :
Tom Weissferdt
Director, Photography :
Quyen Tran
Line Producer :
Alexandra Lisee
Post Production Supervisor :
Josh Lieberman
Editorial :
Union Editorial
Editor :
Eric Kissack
Assistant Editor :
Keith Mahoney
Managing Director :
Michael Raimondi
Producer :
Samantha Machado
Visual Effects/Finishing :
Resolution
Producer :
Logan Aries
Flame Artist :
Maury Rosenfeld
Music :
Riley Hughes
Composer :
Riley Hughes
Telecine :
Resolution
Colorist :
Carolyn Woods
Mix and Sound Design :
Resolution
Engineer :
Milos Zivkovic
Sound Designer :
Milos Zivkovic

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