Gillette India and Smirnoff India get creative with social media to build a buzz around their brands

PR gets ‘hairy’ with Gillette India’s Shave or Crave Campaign

As far as PR stunts go, this one gets to the, erm, skin of the matter. To publicise the Gillette Fusion Gamer shaver, Gillette India has launched the Shave or Crave campaign where getting your man to shave, could win contestants gift hampers. In tandem with the contest, Gillette also launched the so called ‘WOES’ movement i.e. ‘Women Oppose Evening Stubble' initiated by actresses Malaika Arora Khan and Neha Dhupia in early November.

Given the strong opinions on facial hair, in a country, where a moustache and beard is often considered the ultimate sign of machismo, the campaign managed to generate a fair amount of heat on Twitter and even reached the list of top trends from India after its launch. Here are some of the responses on #ShaveorCrave:

While the “scientific basis” of such a claim is doubtful, a smart celeb tie-in with actress Neha Dhupia , Bipasha Basu and squash player Dipika Pallikal helped keep the buzz on. And just when people were probably quite bored of the clean vs. stubble debate, perhaps rightly feeling that body hair is in the realm of the personal, Gillette India released what can only be a mock press release. Published this week, it claims that women in Chennai, led by Dipika Pallikal, will wear only pyjamas in the evening unless their boyfriends/husbands shave.

Smart PR to publicise a shaver, around a topic that clearly draws strong reactions from both sexes. And as the great hair debate rages on, I just have to mention actor Ashwin Mushran’s hilarious video on Men Against Women Against Lazy Indian Stubble, aka MAWALIS. Phew!

Before concluding I just have to ask, how many of you prefer Salman Dabangg Khan or Aamir Talash Khan’s moustached look in their upcoming movies? Much ado over a bit of facial hair.

Mumbai battles Delhi to be king of nightlife in Smirnoff India’s social media campaign

Mumbai and Delhi often go head to head, each claiming to be the better city. If Mumbai has Bollywood, glamour, money; Delhi has power, history, hospitality and of course, the Gandhis.

Smirnoff India attempts to settle the question once and for all, with a specific focus that is in tandem with its product. The company is running a campaign that asks people to vote for their favourite city with the best and loudest nightlife, asking the question, "Is your city the loudest, when it’s about nightlife".

Contestants can tweet a shout or call a number to shout out their votes.

As direct ads about liquor are not allowed in India, this is a creative way to promote a buzz around a liquor brand. 

Have you seen any great or even bad PR?
 

Contact Paarul Chand by emailing paarul@prmoment.in or tweet @PRmomentIndia throughout the week and we’ll happily credit you for your trouble.