Gillette employs the opposite sex

There’s a new movement in town and it’s called W.A.L.S (Women Against Lazy Stubble) a.k.a. the

‘Shave India Movement’. Sponsored by Gillette, it seeks to inform the male community of the

benefits of using a Mach 3 razor. That benefit ranges from the news that the Mach 3 is now at an

affordable price of Rs. 125 to the visual appeal and charm that a clean look offers.

I had just switched on my T.V and was flipping through news channels when I caught this sponsored

feature on CNN IBN. RohanHabib (the hair stylist) was busy touching his cheeks (they were clean of

course) as make-up artist Samantha Kochhar delivered her words of wisdom. The anchor in the

meanwhile kept glorifying the clean-shaven look.

Like a bolt of electricity that goes down one’s spine, I was reminded at once that I had remained

unshaven for almost 2 weeks. Not that this was a revelation: it was more of a ‘revolution’; a cyclical

event of shaving and not shaving (for a considerable period) that I’d been following ever since I had

the opportunity to begin experimenting.

And now these pretty women were chiding me, or perhaps cajoling me into doing otherwise. The

reasons included:

1. Men look better when shaved

2. There is no need to not-shave

3. Men who don’t shave are lazy

4. Men who care for their looks have no excuse now that Gillette is in the market for only Rs.125

5. EtcEtc

The message was clear – a stubble signifies that a man is lazy; women can’t afford a man who is lazy;

so, the man better spend those 5 minutes in front of the mirror every morning.

What astonished me though was that some women who were interviewed went beyond giving an

opinion. They claimed that men who feared bruises and cuts needn’t fear any longer because the

Mach 3 provided for a superior shave. Did these women really understand the torturous 5 minutes

they were talking about; that those 5 minutes might make or equally might ruin the day? Humph!

P&G had almost got me all lined up.

Perhaps the only lesson that pierced through the marketing clatter was that of grooming. Samantha

broke my heart when she linked shaving with grooming habits. It struck a chord – well, almost. After

all, Manmohan Singh wears the disheveled look. So does Amitabh Bachhan (and don’t you girls ever

go ga-ga over him again). I prefer Johnny Depp in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ to say Johnny Depp in

the ‘Nick of time’ (now I gotchya). There’s a long list of males that these women would craze over

despite (or perhaps because of) their stubbles and beards.

Not to take away from the brilliance of the marketing campaign. Hats off to P&G. Perhaps they

should rechristen their tag-line: Gillette, the best a woman can get.