STRATEGIES

When Your Ads Disrupt an Entire Space, What Comes Next?

When you think of a razor ad aimed at women, you probably imagine shaving nonexistent stubble off a smooth, flexed leg. At least, that’s probably what you thought of before Billie came on the scene.

• Project Body Hair—Billie’s suite of 2018 ads depicting women shaving (or not shaving) hairy legs and armpits—made it the first razor company to put women’s body hair on screen, Billie’s cofounder and CEO Georgina Gooley told us. 
• “We wanted to communicate that shaving is a choice,” Gooley said, regarding the 2018 campaign. 
• It’s since amassed over 24 million views across 23 countries.

News you can use: Today Billie launched Think of a Woman, a very different ad—this time, with almost no body hair in sight. It’s running across social video with relatively small spend behind it starting today, International Women’s Day.

Watch the ad here, then read on for Marketing Brew’s chat with Gooley and Billie's Senior Director of Brand Marketing Alyse Borkan about what kind of creative comes after an ad that memorably bucked convention.

On evolving a brand

Gooley said that since 2018, Billie’s campaigns have doubled down on its body hair stance, and that she sees Think of a Woman “as a continued evolution of our brand.” As a company grows, it can channel its disruptive ethos into a broader—but still consistent—message. 

• “As with past campaigns, our goal is to challenge the undue pressures women are subjected to in today’s world,” Gooley continued. 

On “product-free” spots

The product itself never appears in Think of a Woman, marking a significant departure for Billie. Billie’s team felt strongly about centering the audience versus the product on International Women’s Day.

• “Because we don’t provide any background on the brand or our products in the film, there is an assumption that we are speaking to people who already know about us,” Borkan told Marketing Brew. 
• But that’s not exactly the case: “Our goal is not to make sure our target audience sees this, but to reach outside of who we typically talk to and spread the message to those who maybe aren’t as familiar,” Borkan added.

Zoom out: For Billie, putting body hair on screen was simply one expression of its larger brand purpose—championing all kinds of women and their bodies—hence why Think of a Woman feels like an on-brand next step. 

CAMPAIGNS

Lickety Spit

Suitsupply has an...intimate...vision for post-pandemic life.

Running last Thursday on social media, the brand’s “The New Normal is Coming” campaign consists of a mass of lovers swapping spit—it’s aggressive, sticky, and inclusive in a way we actually wish more advertisers would be.

• “The campaign is simply a positive outlook on our future when people can get back to gathering and getting close,” said Suitsupply founder and CEO Fokke de Jong in a statement shared with Marketing Brew.

Suitsupply may have provided the first—and most aggressive—look at the “new normal,” but it’s not the only brand thinking about it. In terms of marketing spend, Ad Age expects this Spring to look like Christmas, as brands hope to capitalize on a return to the “roaring ’20s” of consumerism.

• The National Retail Federation forecasts the “highest growth” in retail sales in 17 years. 
• 65% of CMO Council members anticipate spending more this year. Some brands, like Rent the Runway, actually plan to spend more than they did pre-pandemic.

Our take: As consumers adjust to whatever the “new normal” is, there’s going to be stiff competition for their eyeballs. Maybe just don’t lick them?

SPONSORED BY ATTEST

Test Your Chops

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• How recognizable your brand is to your target audience
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Making marketing moves means knowing how to distinguish yourself from competitors and improve marketing performance with data. 

And if that doesn’t stir your appetite just yet, Attest is offering a free, 3-question survey to start your consumer research journey. 

Get the info you need to better distinguish yourself in the market with Attest. 

PRIVACY

Data Privacy Dominoes

The “Mother of States” (yes, we had to google that) is getting stricter. Last week, Virginia became the second state behind California to pass a significant consumer data privacy law.

• Residents will be able to “opt out” of having their online lives stored and sold. Companies will need to ask permission before collecting any sensitive information, like “genetic or biometric” or “precise geological data.”
• And internet surfers will be able to see who’s collecting what—with the choice of deleting any of that sweet, sweet data.

The new law goes into effect the first day of 2023, and its provisions can change between now and then.

Quilt < Comforter

VA's privacy rules are less strict than California's, which went into effect last year. Still, it'll complicate some things for marketers. The more online users opt out, the harder it is for publishers to guarantee an audience, especially as cookies are set to expire.

Looking ahead: A dozen other states are trying to pass their own privacy laws. Expect a strong push for federal privacy legislation, as a tapestry of parties—from tech companies to privacy advocates—pushes back on this state-by-state, patchwork approach.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment in advertising, PR, and related services climbed by 3,500 jobs month-over-month in February, although ad agency employment data isn’t available yet. 
• CBS said 30 seconds of airtime during the Meghan and Harry interview cost $325,000—about twice the normal fee. 
• Instagram said it’s debating giving users the option to hide “like” count on the platform.
• Burger King UK’s “Women belong in the kitchen” stunt tweet sparked criticism this morning—it followed up with, “If they want to, of course. Yet only 20% of chefs are women.”

SPONSORED BY LOB

Ding dong, direct mail insight here. In a survey with Comperemedia, Lob found that 60% of companies sending direct mail say it’s their highest-ROI marketing channel. And it’s not just for customer acquisition; companies are increasingly using direct mail for engagement, retention, and even advocacy. Find out how lifecycle-focused direct mail can boost your next campaign. 

FRENCH PRESS

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren't those.

CX: Bryanna Evans, a social media manager at Southern Elegance Candle Company, explains how to improve customer experience on social here. 

SEO: Read this short guide if you’re in the process of choosing the right clients for your SEO agency.

Data strategies: Find out how to use data for content creation (which is more fun than it sounds, I promise).  

Productivity: Why has getting work done gotten so dang hard? For instance, 87% of knowledge workers are working late now that they're WFH. Discover all the stats in Asana’s Anatomy of Work Index report.*

*This is sponsored advertising content

AD ANTIQUES

Vintage Ad Browser

A different kind of razor ad, from 1992. 

ICYMI

Catch up on a few Marketing Brew stories you might have missed.

• Shaq’s cofounding a new creative agency
• Instagram is still debating hiding likes
• What marketers can learn from Clubhouse’s onslaught of push notifications