Philips promotes Cool Skin shaver range with viral ad and site for ’15-blade’ razor

Philips is promoting its Philishave Cool Skin gel-lubricated electric shavers with a Gillette-style viral video that pokes fun at rival manufacturers’ obsession with multiple-bladed razors.

The video starts by trumpeting the benefits of a revolutionary new razor system, the Quintippio, with 15 extra-large blades – but the male model takes a long look at the Quintippio, and opts for the Philishave Cool Skin instead.

The video can be watched at www.quintippio.co.uk, which also carries fake advertising for the Quintippio, including the slogan “Lay waste to facial hair” and a mechanism for viewers to forward the Web address to friends. Links at the bottom of the page lead to the sites of retailers stocking the Cool Skin range and also to Philishave’s own site.

The Cool Skin range of electric shavers was launched by Philips in 2001, in partnership with Nivea. Each shaver has a compartment in the back, to hold a sachet of Nivea for Men lubricating shaving gel. The gel is then dispensed onto the electric shaving heads to provide what Philishave claims is a “shave as close as a blade, with less irritation”.

The site and viral video were created for Philips by digital agency Tribal DDB.