Late February saw the launch of a new UK campaign from Harry’s Razors fronted by Tottenham Hotspur striker and England captain Harry Kane that offers both name synergy and a fresh perspective on masculinity compared to January’s much discussed Gillette spot.
The campaign, initially teased on Kane’s own social platforms,
and by the brand,
Guess who we’ve teamed up with? #IAmNotAfraid pic.twitter.com/dMSk8TWQdU
— Harry's (@harrys) February 21, 2019
is spearheaded by a hero 30-second advert with Kane as the new ‘bearded’ face of the brand: it sees the England star alone on a crossbar and when the camera brings him into close focus the viewer hears his internal monologue on being a man.
“I am not afraid to lead, I am not afraid to be criticised, to ask for help, to tell my daughters I love them. I am not afraid to be myself and if that makes me different, I’ll choose different every time,” said Kane.
The final frame spotlights Harry’s Razor with the strapline ‘Made for Every Man’.
This new creative from the subscription shaving product service clearly aims to draw some kind of line in the sand around masculinity with a bold monochrome spot.
The ad, developed in harness with creative agency Brothers & Sisters, was timed to roll out as the striker returned from injury and aired during the telecast of Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Burnley.
It is supported by additional digital and social content
as well as a PR strand.
Tune in today for my interview with @HKane in @thetimes for the new @Harry’s #IAmNotAfraid campaign Awesome fella! pic.twitter.com/IVsqcwdrXr
— Martin Daubney (@MartinDaubney) February 23, 2019
Harry’s aims to focus on Kane’s personal perspective and then the campaign evolves to open conversation and dialogue up to consumers by creating conversations on Kane’s social channels around the hashtag #IAmNotAfraid.
“We set out to make a piece of work that would stand out from the crowd, just like Harry Kane stands out from the crowd and Harry’s razors stand out from the crowd,” said Brothers & Sisters founder Andy Fowler.
“One shot, in black and white, with Harry Kane opening up, while standing on the crossbar of the pitch in Chingford where he scored many of his goals as a kid. It’s not like other ads. And all the better for it.”
Comments:
This campaign not only leverages the footballer’s star power and fortuitously shared name, but it also leverages rival Gillette’s January 2019 high profile and much discussed ‘We Believe’ campaign led by the ‘The Best Men Can Be’ spot.
After years of classic, macho, male sports star fronted advertising, this 2019 brand campaign –which had divided consumers and marketers – highlights men’s traditional roles in bullying and harassment and challenges all men with the questions ‘is this the best a man can get?’.
The campaign’s aim was to challenge men to do more, to get closer to their best, to say the right thing, to act the right way and aims to drive them online to the campaign’s web platform at http://www.thebestmencanbe.org.
Excellent work here by Harry’s Razors. Positive male messaging, unlike Gillette’s recent condescending and demeaning effort. Some proceeds go to CALM, the leading charity spreading awareness of male suicide #IAmNotAfraid https://t.co/GaxUH0Z0sn
— The Parrhesia Diaries (@MyParrhesia) February 23, 2019
Sophie Lewis, chief strategy officer at VMLY&R, shed some light on how the Harry’s campaign responded to Gillette: “The truth is that Gillette should have raised the debate and the questions, and not tried to answer the question or fix the problem themselves. In terms of execution, it gets itself in all sorts of bother with regard to male stereotypes and definitions.”
Links:
Harry’s
https://www.instagram.com/harrys/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugL2rOcVU9DxicZJLJ9beg
https://www.facebook.com/hapostropheUK
Brothers & Sisters
https://www.brothersandsisters.co.uk/
VMLY&R
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.