1. Gillette employs the opposite sex
There’s a new movement in town and it’s called W.A.L.S (Women Against Lazy Stubble) a.k.a. the
‘Shave India Movement’. Sponsored by Gillette, it seeks to inform the male community of the
benefits of using a Mach 3 razor. That benefit ranges from the news that the Mach 3 is now at an
affordable price of Rs. 125 to the visual appeal and charm that a clean look offers.
I had just switched on my T.V and was flipping through news channels when I caught this sponsored
feature on CNN IBN. RohanHabib (the hair stylist) was busy touching his cheeks (they were clean of
course) as make-up artist Samantha Kochhar delivered her words of wisdom. The anchor in the
meanwhile kept glorifying the clean-shaven look.
Like a bolt of electricity that goes down one’s spine, I was reminded at once that I had remained
unshaven for almost 2 weeks. Not that this was a revelation: it was more of a ‘revolution’; a cyclical
event of shaving and not shaving (for a considerable period) that I’d been following ever since I had
the opportunity to begin experimenting.
And now these pretty women were chiding me, or perhaps cajoling me into doing otherwise. The
reasons included:
1. Men look better when shaved
2. There is no need to not-shave
3. Men who don’t shave are lazy
4. Men who care for their looks have no excuse now that Gillette is in the market for only Rs.125
5. EtcEtc
The message was clear – a stubble signifies that a man is lazy; women can’t afford a man who is lazy;
so, the man better spend those 5 minutes in front of the mirror every morning.
What astonished me though was that some women who were interviewed went beyond giving an
opinion. They claimed that men who feared bruises and cuts needn’t fear any longer because the
Mach 3 provided for a superior shave. Did these women really understand the torturous 5 minutes
they were talking about; that those 5 minutes might make or equally might ruin the day? Humph!
P&G had almost got me all lined up.
Perhaps the only lesson that pierced through the marketing clatter was that of grooming. Samantha
broke my heart when she linked shaving with grooming habits. It struck a chord – well, almost. After
all, Manmohan Singh wears the disheveled look. So does Amitabh Bachhan (and don’t you girls ever
go ga-ga over him again). I prefer Johnny Depp in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ to say Johnny Depp in
the ‘Nick of time’ (now I gotchya). There’s a long list of males that these women would craze over
despite (or perhaps because of) their stubbles and beards.
Not to take away from the brilliance of the marketing campaign. Hats off to P&G. Perhaps they
should rechristen their tag-line: Gillette, the best a woman can get.