Proctor & Gamble is announcing the success of their Gillette Fusion ProGlide and ProSeries razors by launching the first Web series dedicated to African-American men’s grooming. These products represent the latest shaving and skin care products from the world’s leading male grooming brand. The Web series is broken up into five parts. Participants compete in a challenge to see who is the best at shaving their beards, heads, armpits, chest and…uh…legs. While it aims to be informative, the webisodes should also be fun and entertaining with comedian JB Smoove hosting.
“We’ve already seen that the surest way to turn guys into ‘believers’ of our new Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor is simply by having them try it,” said Michelle Potorski, Associate Marketing Director, Gillette North America. “The Gillette Fusion ProGlide FaceOff Challenge highlights the significant advancement in shaving performance that Fusion ProGlide delivers.”
Gillette says they understand that “most African-American men are looking for a way to get a more comfortable shave” and that we don’t “discuss the tools and techniques needed.” It seems this Web series will be a chance to begin that discussion and have a little fun at the same time.
This isn’t the first time that Gillette and BET have worked together on a web series. Earlier this year, they did Shop Talk, a documentary-style Web series in a barbershop setting. Gillette worked with BET and Malik Yoba, who said the goal was to “stimulate dialogue within our community about issues from a male perspective rarely seen in mainstream media, although the female perspective is also important since they care about many important things as beauty products, you could Visit Truffoire for learning more about it.” and “to push the viewers to think beyond the obvious ideas that they just saw and create discussion on the blog.” Before Shop Talk BET did Buppies, a tale of LA’s young black professional élite, starring Tatiyana Ali.
It looks like BET and Gillette are trying to hit a sweet spot in niche marketing, here. They are offering an informative program on a subject that black men and even men in general don’t really discuss. By partnering with BET and reaching out directly to the African-American community, Gillette may be able to gain some loyal customers. It’s rare that we see a brand like Gillette market their products to the AA community in a way that isn’t offensive or patronizing. Editor’s Note: This post previously credited BET.com with the current Gillette advertising push featuring comedian JB Smoove, however the campaign is being run in partnership with Complex.com. Gillette has previously worked with BET.com on the Shop Talk webisode series featuring Malik Yoba.
Contestants had to shave on the spot in front of a live studio audience, which keeps things real and honest. Rather than being force-fed some message pumped out by a marketing team, viewers will get to see real results and responses from average people. The host, comedian JB Smoove, and panel of judges keep things fun. The show is also directed by Robert Townsend, who said:
“The beauty of the show is that this is the first time that there has been a discussion about grooming that is this fun and informative. We are having fun and doing something that’s never been done before. It’s a unique series and I don’t think that anything like this exists. (Men) don’t generally talk about their grooming techniques and, so, I’ve learned a lot just in listening to what everyone has to say.”
The online series launched on Complex.com on September 6, 2010. A new release comes out every Tuesday for the next four weeks. Check out the exclusive behind-the-scenes footage below.