"It seems like all the ads are showing perfect skin and shiny hair … but what about this other world inside your underwear?"
For Gillette, Grey Group gives us "The Venus Pube Song," a surprisingly cute tune that finally gives the pube her day in the sun.
The work owes a mighty debt to "Viva La Vulva"—and to Disney, though that would probably make Walt turn in his cryogenic vault. (He was actually cremated, but we still like believing he's frozen somewhere, awaiting reanimation, which, to his unhappy surprise, will probably happen on a grim Mars colony seeking stories to calm the non-unionized indentured masses.)
In a survey of U.S. women, Venus found almost half agree it "feels more accurate" to use anatomical terms, like "pubic," but only 18 percent actually use them. The purpose of this campaign is to encourage shavers of the feminine persuasion to #SayPubic.
What strikes us most is the world of discourse this ad is entering. In the marketing universe of shaving, we're imagining a spectrum between EOS's "Bless Your F*ing Cooch" and Veet's warm and (ironically) fuzzy "Your Body Hair, Your Choice."
"The Venus Pube Song" leans more in the latter direction—though, to be fair, there's nothing about the EOS work that suggests you must remove your pubies. The sugary lament ("Take care of us, your pubic hair, if you trim or you shave or you're bare down there!") ends, à la Veet, "Whichever way's your way, it's all OK."
This effort to destigmatize pubic hair, and the topic of pubic grooming, promotes a new collection under the brand's #MySkinMyWay "commitment," dedicated to celebrating all women and all skin types. It includes a specially designed razor, exfoliant, shave gel and serum for the pubic area (who knew we needed as many personal care products for our bottom halves as we do the top?).
CREDITS
Client: P&G Venus NA
Max Menozzi – Senior Vice President
John Claughton – Brand Vice President
Anthony van Dijk – Senior Brand Director
Ryan Parker – Brand Director
Alex Prounis – Senior Brand Manager
My Anh Nghiem – Communications Director
James Pooley – BBIC
Ilse Verbunt – Executive Production Manager
Creative Agency: Grey New York
John Patroulis - Worldwide Chief Creative Officer
Justine Armour – Chief Creative Officer
Javier Bonilla – Global Executive Creative Director
Rebecca Flinn – Creative Director
Lexi Rodriguez – ACD Art Director
Madeleine DiGangi – Copywriter
Suzanne Ayello - EVP/Global Account Director
Stephanie DiMilia - VP/Global Account Director
Charlotte Jenkins – Account Executive
Ellen Clark – Assistant Account Executive
Jhanell Biggs – Senior Planner
Shelby Issersohn – Project Manager
Kenny Gold – SVP Director, Social Media
Kait Pearse – Associate Director, Influencer
Ish Traore – Content Architect
Production Agency: Townhouse
Keira Rosenthal – VP, Executive Integrated Producer
Victoria Najmy – Associate Integrated Producer
Kurt Steinke – Music Producer
Tim O'Shea – Associate Integrated Business Manager
Music
BANG Music + Audio Post
Timo Elliston – Composer
Brian Jones – Executive Producer
Animation & Character Design
Strange Beast – Production Company
Kitty Turley – Executive Producer
Louise Simpson – Producer
Sacha Beeley – Director
George Wheeler, Campbell Hartley, Nely Michenauld – Animation
Zohar Dvir, Lydia Reid, Julian Gallese, Maddy Hope – Animation Assistants
Linus Kraemer – Compositor
Finishing
Fauna
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