Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology reveals the creative thinking behind its new OneBlade advertising campaign after reading thousands of sometimes ‘stranger than fiction’ reviews. Based on real – and often funny – user reviews, the campaign includes a series of five short, cinematic-style TV commercial and online ‘films’ that hit a sweet spot between reality and fiction, relatability, and unexpectedness. Using drama, humour, dance, and a dose of quirkiness to bring the grooming tool’s unique features to life, the content aims to position OneBlade as iconic beyond its features and the ONE indispensable grooming companion for young men today.
Exploring the tension between reality and fiction
Launching in 2022, Philips OneBlade 360 has had a huge impact on users’ lives. The latest addition to the OneBlade portfolio – the original OneBlade launched in 2016 – is the only shaver to trim, edge and shave any length of hair on the face and body and in any direction, making it unlike any other grooming tool. With an average four-and-a-half star rating across more than 50,000 global online reviews, Philips took the opportunity to ‘reintroduce’ OneBlade to its key male 18-40 market by dramatising a selection of almost ‘stranger than fiction’ real-life online reviews to create content as ‘unbelievable’ and distinctive as the reviews and OneBlade 360 itself.
From a locker-room scene with dancing men based on one user’s review to Shakespearian-esque scenes of a man questioning “To shave or not to shave, that is the question”, again using a real review for inspiration, the content turns the words of OneBlade users into dramatic stories, using cinematic queues and elements to explore the tension between reality and fiction with a quirky and humorous tone. With user reviews revealing women use OneBlade too, diverse casting and ‘human’ storylines create an undeniable human-centred ‘realness’ to each film by depicting the many ways consumers actually use the grooming tool in real life.
Real – but like out of a movie
Josefien Olij, Philips’ Global Consumer Creation, Production & Strategy leader said: “When reading all those reviews of people saying OneBlade is so unbelievably good, the way people review it is equally unbelievable, almost like something out of a movie. We quickly realised we couldn’t script these things. We wanted to create a campaign as unique as the shaver itself – one that reflects and brings to life the almost ‘too-good-to-be-true’ reviews of the shaver.”
The campaign was developed with Digital Agency DEPT®. “While reading through all those amazing reviews, some very funny, dramatised and almost unrealistically good, we faced the challenge that we were not able to use or refer to any of these reviews directly in the campaign,” said João Inácio, Creative Director at Digital Agency DEPT®. “Therefore, we needed to think outside of the box. During the creative process and brainstorms we had, we used the exact tension between reality and fiction that we saw in many of the reviews, which resulted in this cinematic storytelling approach for the campaign. It is great to see that looking at the films, they really are based on true reviews.”
Philips OneBlade 360 – trim, edge and shave effortlessly
Unlike any other grooming tool, OneBlade 360 trims, edges and shaves any length of hair, wet or dry, while its unique 360 blade moves in all directions to reach difficult areas with fewer passes. The blade easily adjusts to every curve of the face, as well as the neck and jawline, to get to even the most difficult to reach hairs in fewer passes and with greater comfort. OneBlade also provides an easy and comfortable shave thanks to its glide coating and rounded tips. And with a cutter that moves at 200x per second, it’s efficient even on longer hairs.
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Global SVP of Marketing