Evaluation

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.