NORTHERN PLANNER

Thomas Wagner

 

Some interesting thoughts in there.

 

Did a nice job of building a picture of the sort of man who would reject Gillette, but I wasn’t as sure how King of Shaves were going to capture these people’s imagination. Perhaps he should have gone back to Connery and co and shown what they would have said about KOS.

 

The just enough is more part also seemed to come out of nowhere a bit for me. I wasn’t quite sure how this fitted with the rest of the story.

 

 

Matt Nixon – Mischief

 

Builds a good story of why mischief could stand out in the category. I think it needs to be defined what/who they’re being mischievous against though. Is it the old representations of men, is it the dull and characterless? Without this clear agenda for their mischief, it’s hard to anticipate and support what they do.

 

 

Zeljko

 

I quite like the idea of KOS/Shaving helping to fuel creativity. It fits quite well with the product and usage situation, but I think it could be better defined what the tension is. Funding indie films seems a little safe and predictable, which is perhaps because it’s not clear why they’re fighting against the status quo?

 

Also, the song lyric manifesto was a bit too abstract for my uncultured brain.

 

 

Justin Thor Hoyer

 

Unfortunately, I think this presentation is let down by not defining, or at least not showing evidence for the key insight/behaviour KOS is going to take advantage of. The idea of poor shaving being a problem, or mocked seems a small point at the start of the presentation, but appears to be the basis of the whole idea. This could have done with some substantiation – even just a few Twitter quotes or something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carolin Dahlman

 

Interesting contrast to the standard shaving ads. I think it could have done with being clearer about the reasons the ‘good guys’ would use KOS. Was it to help them get their loving wife, or was it a kind of selfless act to make their home life happier? If it’s the first, then it may need more direction on how the advertising would differ from the usual ‘woman stroking the man’s beard after the shave’ imagery.

 

Bonus points for Tom Selleck.

 

In terms of presentation, it’s quite hard to follow the early slides, as the info jumps around the page.

 

There’s also a lot of quotes and thoughts at the start, which it might have been nice to apply next to the new direction at the end of the presentation. To show the challenges set had been answered. That may just be my style though!

 

 

SC

 

Feels a bit like a male version of Dove, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and humour is probably the right way to tackle the subject for men.

 

However, I’m not sure some of the activity described actually lives up to the manifesto. It feels like you’d be owning comedy, rather than necessarily comedy with a purpose, as the manifesto suggests.

 

While I wouldn’t say Powerpoint is always the answer, I think this response suffered without pictures to reinforce the audience and idea.

 

 

GJBaltus

 

I quite liked the idea of returning to traditional, timeless qualities in an age of uncertainty.

 

The end of the manifesto and some of the event activity are what got me most interested – providing support and opportunities to build character. I’m less comfortable with the bits about determination to be successful, just because I started picturing the usual Gillette ads in my head. I’m sure this wasn’t what they had in mind though.

 

Probably my favourite presentation, because I could really see people getting behind a brand that genuinely helps people to build character and experience, rather than just hold up pictures of people who have already made it. It also feels like an area a shaving brand could legitimately own – it being one of the first steps into manhood.

 

It’s also a lovely looking Powerpoint. It shouldn’t matter, but it does…

 

My one criticism would be that it was perhaps a touch too long – a few she-male slides could have been cut, and the length means it’s even more important that the key positioning/insight statements are made clear and given room to breath. I only truly understood the positioning on the second read through because of this. It may not get that chance in the real world.

 

 

The Strategy

 

I don’t know if it was the format, but I found it really hard to pick out the key ideas in this one. Perhaps it needed a bit more editing to make sure all the ideas were pointing in the same direction and told one story.

 

I think there was the basis of a good idea in young men just wanting to get shaving out of the way, to enjoy better things, but I found the whole thing quite confusing.

 

Maybe I was just being stupid though.