Gillette encourages gamers to ‘hit reset’ for global campaign

Dive Brief:

Gillette has launched a new global campaign, “Hit Reset with Gillette,” encouraging gamers to use its personal care products to get cleaned up after a night of gaming, according to a press release.
Key to the effort is an expansion of the long-running Gillette Gaming Alliance, a roster of top gaming streamers, to now include a global community encompassing passive viewership and active participation. The alliance will share content and host branded streams on Twitch, YouTube and social media.
Consumers will have opportunities to engage through user-generated content, social media and at several gaming events. The move, one of the latest by the brand in the gaming arena, also includes a partnership with The Esports Awards.

Dive Insight:

Procter & Gamble’s Gillette is asserting a “look good, play good” mentality for its latest campaign, elevating awareness of its personal care products for those looking to clean up after a long stint of gaming. The move could help the brand resonate with the growing number of consumers who enjoy video games while also connecting it to a global esports market expected to reach a revenue of $3.8 billion this year.

Core to the effort is the global Gillette Gaming Alliance, now in its sixth year, which will host branded streams and create localized “Hit Reset with Gillette'' content across Twitch, YouTube and social media. Included in this year’s alliance are new and returning members like AJ3 (U.K.), Elded (Mexico), PizFN (Italy), Xiuder (Italy), Tvander (Spain) and Idrea (France), all of whom will showcase their personal “reset routines'' while highlighting Gillette and offering educational content around grooming. Consumers will have multiple opportunities for involvement, including through activations at lauded gaming events, per the release.

To launch the campaign, Gillette is also teaming with The Esports Awards, an annual event that celebrates gaming, esports and content creators. This year’s event takes place from Nov. 29-30 at Resorts World Las Vegas. Through the tie-up, Gillette will be featured throughout the event, including with “Reset with Gillette” pre-show content and GilletteLabs product integrations. Members from the Gillette Gaming Alliance will also be in attendance and will speak to their experience with the brand.

Gaming has often been a focus of Gillette’s marketing. Ahead of the brand’s latest campaign, it teamed with gamer lifestyle brand Razer to create the GilletteLabs Razer Limited Edition shaving set, which includes several features nodding to Razer, including its triple-headed snake logo. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of its Gaming Alliance in 2022, the brand rolled out an expanded Fortnite experience that built off success from the year prior. Playing in the space could help the brand form more authentic connections, especially with younger audiences.

Other brands have also sought to win over the gaming crowd with a slew of creative efforts. For instance, Doritos earlier this month released an AI-powered software tool for PC gamers that supposedly cancels the “crunch” sound heard from snacking on its chips in audio chats. The same month, E.l.f. Cosmetics launched a Roblox experience meant to gamify financial literacy education for the platform’s young user base. In June, Coke teamed with League of Legends developer Riot Games for a new soft drink targeting the gaming community.