Gillette to unveil Venus disposables

Gillette is to step up its assault on the female shaving market with the launch of a range of disposable razors under its Venus Divine brand early next year.

Venus Divine Disposables will be backed by a &£3m television, print and outdoor campaign that will break in February. Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO holds Gillette’s advertising brief, while media buying is handled by MindShare.

The move comes amid increased competition in the female shaving market following last year’s successful launch of Wilkinson Sword’s Intuition one-step shaver system (MW May 22, 2003). Reckitt Benckiser has also entered the market, with the launch of a razor range under its Veet brand (MW November 6, 2003), and Bic has stepped up its involvement with the launch of Bic Soleil, a range of three-bladed disposables (MW January 8).

An industry source says the Venus Divine launch is the logical next step for Gillette. He says: “There are a lot of women who do not use system razors but who really like the Venus shave.”

Gillette plans to turn Venus into a larger umbrella brand for the women’s personal care market and is considering a Venus skincare launch (MW June 3).