Schick Quattro Titanium: Become a Masterpiece

This is an ad for Schick Quattro Titanium disposable razors.

The text reads:

Get a smooth, sculpted shave with the new Schick Quattro Titanium Disposable.  The only disposable razor with an edging blade for precision and 4 titanium-coated blades to help you shape as you shave.

Free your skin.

Well, I have to admit that the tagline fits with the image of one of Michelangelo’s sculptures (the famous David, of course).  He said that his sculptures were already fully formed inside the blocks of stone he had and that it was his job to free them.

The problem with the ad is that it sounds to me like it’s suggesting you can actually sculpt your own face with this razor, and I’m guessing that’s not really the case.  A razor merely lets you shape or cut off the hair you have, not actually remold your skin.  And you can create some illusions about your face shape with clever shaving, but few people actually have the skills to do so and those who do aren’t likely to be using disposable razors to do it.

I think this is an interesting ad, but I’m not sure it’s effective for a razor.  I probably would have stuck with something more… facial-hair themed.

Wilkinson Sword: Mow the Lawn

This is a British commercial for Wilkinson Sword Quattro razors for women that a friend of mine sent me a while back.

To begin with, they get points for a catchy jingle!  And the women doing garden work in cute outfits with serious looking, albeit pink, tools is both entertaining and interesting.  It manages to blend the ultra-feminine image that is the bread and butter of the beauty industry with a kind of empowering view of women who are capable and independent.  That said, I have to wonder who really, honestly expects women to believe that all they need to do to cheer themselves up when they feel down is shave their bikini area.  Seriously?  There are a lot of ways they could have tried to sell this razor and even a lot of ways they could have tried to sell the idea of shaving pubic hair, so why choose one that makes so little sense?  Talk about how it is supposed to make a woman feel beautiful or how bare skin feels great or something.  Why sell a task that many women find annoying, frustrating or even scary (and a great many don’t think about at all, because they don’t do it) as something to do when you need to be cheered up?  You eat chocolate, watch a favorite movie, cuddle with a pet or smell flowers to cheer up, you don’t shave.

Still, it’s an impressive commercial and the jingle is catchy!  It just doesn’t make me want to buy a razor, it makes me want to pick flowers!