Dive Brief:
- Manscaped debuted a holiday ad campaign starring Pete Davidson, who signed a multiyear ambassadorship deal with the male grooming brand in July, per a news release.
- In a new spot titled “Season’s Groomings,” Davidson is spending Christmas morning with his mom — played by the actor’s real mother, Amy Davidson — and is gifted a package of Manscaped products only to find that Santa Claus has pulled a fast one on him and left a trail of body hair as evidence.
- An in-house team worked on the racy creative, which is running across YouTube, social media, streaming and linear TV, with an assist from writer Dave Sirus and production company ArtClass. Manscaped is leaning on Davidson’s star power ahead of a holiday season where consumers are expected to buy fewer gifts due to economic pressures.
Dive Insight:
Manscaped, which focuses on “below-the-waist” hygiene, is playing up its raunchy sense of humor with a holiday twist as it positions its trimmers and grooming products as stocking-stuffer ideas. The latest ad builds on a four-year pact struck with Davidson earlier this year that made the “Saturday Night Live” alum a shareholder and creative partner for the brand.
Manscaped is taking advantage of e-commerce features on digital platforms to emphasize the gift-giving conceit for the season. The version of the ad on YouTube has a button that viewers can click to browse and shop products shown in the video.
“Season’s Groomings” narratively draws on Davidson’s personal life, which has frequently informed his output and is the subject of an upcoming TV series. The commercial brings in the actor’s real mother, who the release credits with originally introducing Davidson to Manscaped after buying him a Lawn Mower for Christmas one year.
In the new spot, Davidson again receives Manscaped as a gift but discovers the trimmer is missing from The Performance Package 4.0 bundle. Upon further investigation, Davidson finds a pile of white hair underneath the plate of milk and cookies left out for Santa, with a suspicious trail of the curly trimmings leading back to the fireplace. The implication is that Santa did some inappropriate grooming at Davidson’s expense, which leads to a disgusted reaction from the comedian.
While the creative centers on a gross-out gag, Manscaped views Davidson as a figure exuding the type of self-confidence and “sense of modern masculinity” the brand wants to inspire in men who might otherwise feel judged for taking care of their bodies. Other brands have latched onto the star’s distinctive appeal.
H&M at the start of the year tapped Davidson for a global campaign aimed at bringing more male shoppers into the fast-fashion store’s fold. Taco Bell in October worked with the comedian on a push where he served as a “brand apologist” for the times when the chain went too over-the-top with its breakfast menu.
Manscaped announced the tie-up with Davidson as the firm was preparing to go public via a SPAC merger with Bright Lights Acquisition Corp. The two firms mutually terminated the deal in August as the economy worsened.
