Landing strips, Pool racks and Wood Floors

9 Inch Axiom – On being Clever

‘The ability to cleverly integrate your product benefit in a commercial spot is key to gaining awareness and the path to viral + WOM success’

Too many spots try to be funny for the sake of being funny.  In an effort to make things ‘water cooler’ material they resort to humor that has nothing to do with the product or the benefit.  Many times I’ll hear coworkers or friends talking about a funny spot and I’ll inquire into who the brand was.  Two-thirds of the time they have no recall of the product.

Enter Schick

Schick is launching a new shaver called the TrimStyle for Women.  An interesting product as it combines a normal shaver on one end and a waterproof bikini groomer on the other. Check out this clever spot:

[Credit to Drew McLellan at the fantastic blog "Drew's Marketing Minute" for bringing the spot to my attention]

Very clever and subtle use of the ‘bushes’ in the commercial.  The spot creates an ‘a ha’ moment for the viewer.  It is a definite conversation starter and attention getter.

I love the tagline for the spot “FREE YOUR SKIN”.  I had written a post awhile back entitled “The Largest Organ” which discusses the importance of your skin.  Smart marketers try to tap into the tactile feelings the product conveys.  High marks and ‘attaboys’ to the brand team at Schick Wilkinson Sword. I’ll be interested to see how the rest of this campaign plays out.  

Today’s Lagniappe  - a link and a contest and a couple of vintage spots

Link – There are two people who I know would appreciate the TrimStyle.  Shock Jocks ‘Opie and Anthony’ have a recurring contest on their radio show called, “GWIMP”. Check out the backstory on the game from a very cool site called  URBAN DICTIONARY.

Contest - I was just reading a blog post on the TrimStyle.  It looks like the blog had a contest last month that encouraged consumers to share their WORST grooming experience.  Over 270 entries in the form of comments on the post.  A great way to listen to the ‘pain points’ of your target audience.

Vintage Viral Spots – I had the privilege of working on the adidas / Yankees partnership during my time with the Stripes.  One of the absolute highlights was being involved with an integrated campaign called “Only in New York” from ’98 to ’00.  The campaign tried to capture the essence of New York and the passion of  Yankee fans.  Check out the inaugural spot called “ANSKY”:

A few more classics: This never hit the airwaves . . . the banned spot with ‘THE BOSS’ George Steinbrenner called “MAN DOWN”, the letter “S”, my favorite called “Braves Fan” and a dance called the “El Duque”

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