Research into the project was quite difficult because Gillette
consistently release new razors. However, I overcame this challenge by looking
into the model and the year. From gaining the information I was able to get an
insight into the razor and the company. This helped me find what information
needed to be used and how to sell the product. Adding to this research into the
product gave me insight into how to sell the product and what the strengths and
weaknesses of the product were.
Strengths of my work are that the product itself is quite
easy to sell, as Gillette Razors only have one purpose; and that is to help men
shave. This allowed me to explore numerous creative ideas, as the advert did
not need to be very factual; simply just to emphasise a smooth shave with no
“tugging and pulling”. This benefitted
me, as it gave me the opportunity to use different creative thinking methods,
and experiment which worked best. Following this, because a strength was the
product itself, I was able to use the Debono hat theory, Word Association and
Animal Perspective to create ideas; this assisted me with coming up with ideas
as there no need to include facts and figures.
Strength of my
research and advert is that my advert works well for the products demographic.
For instance the fact that my advert symbolises the smoothness of the shave;
also the fact I used men with beards in the advert so that the advert could
appeal to people who don't shave. This is because my advert worked well for the
typical norm demographic, which is men shaving. However, I also introduced a
new demographic which was men with beards; subsequently this expanded my
demographic.
Further strengths of the ad are
that it is a moving metaphor. The advert symbolises smoothness. This is strength
of the ad because it means that it is not dull, boring or overly factual,
especially in comparison to the original. This gave the ad more of an edge and
having an advert without words means that people will be more focused on what
is happening. In addition to this another strength of my advert is that
compared to other shaving adverts I’ve shown a man clean shaven and two men
with beards, showing both views of men with beards and men without beards. This
meant that my advert can attract all types of men and keep their interest.
Adding this using the man to symbolise smoothness still carries across the
message of the campaign which is a smooth shave, and having him not talk adds
to the smoothness of him.
On top of this demonstrating how shaving helps your image
shows strength in my advert. This is because I show the two men with beards not
getting in, and this demonstrates the stereotype of smart, posh places.
Therefore showing a man with a clean shave sliding in, expresses certain views
of how looking smart may help you in ascertaining higher class functions.
However, the point made in the previous paragraph could be
viewed as a weakness, as the stereotype
of a clean shaven man being let into the building me over the two men with
beards might offend some people. Therefore this can be seen as a weakness of my
advert.
Another weakness of my advert is the fact that I did not
mention “no tugging and pulling” which was a key selling point Gillette was
trying to enforce. However, as my advert had no speech used, it weakens my
advert in the sense that it is less informative.
Furthermore another weakness of my work is that a number of
my first ideas were quite typical and cliché of shaving adverts. I found it
difficult to break out of the norm for shaving adverts. This held me back at
first as the ideas being created were not interesting or creative enough to be
completely different to the original.
I do, however, believe the advert
works. This is because my message of the Gillette Fusion ProGlide being a
smooth shave is portrayed well in the advert as the man symbolizes my message.
Subsequently this is why I believe that it works. Alongside this I feel that I
have met the objectives. As the objectives were to make an advert which was
uninspiring and develop a new proposition; one which is more creative; and
after trying out many different creative techniques I achieved this with my new
advert. However, the idea of using the man to symbolise smoothness may not come
across to everyone; this may weaken the purpose of the advert.
Following this the message may not come across universally.
As some may view the ad as me suggesting that shaving is cool and slick; which
in one sense is a benefit of shaving. However, I was trying to show how the new
razor itself provides the smoothest shave from Gillette.
If I were to change it I may put a script along the bottom
of the advert while it played. This would just inform people of the specialties
of the new razor. As it was tested on 30’000 men, it is highly prized by
P&G and the fact that Gillette sells 100 million razors in 75 countries
each year. Facts like these may have helped the advert be a little more informative.
However, doing this would have ruined the point of the advert and made it
duller. But, a voiceover perhaps would have helped to describe what is
happening and what the advert is representing.
Overall, although there were
certain flaws within my new proposition for Gillette fusion ProGlide; for
instance the lack of facts and figures making the advert less informative. I do
believe that my proposition worked appropriately for the message I was trying
to convey. As although a lack of facts can be a weakness, it makes my new
proposition more interesting and memorable as I’ve steered away from the cliché
and norms of shaving product advertising.
