Beard on or Beard off?

Client: Wilkinson Sword

Wilkinson Sword has a 252-year history. But it’s seen as a ‘dad’ brand, and was facing year-on-year decline.

Unable to outspend market leaders, the brand needed to look for new ways to revive sales. So, by recognising that the unshaven look had become the norm in recent years, the brand teamed up with LADbible to spark a nationwide debate: ARE YOU BEARD ON OR BEARD OFF? We tapped into the 'new year, new look' mentality, sharing content that would get a younger male audience engaged and debating. When we revealed that “Brits are split on whether men are more attractive with or without beards”, it sparked a frenzy. On Snapchat, we allowed our audience to see what they, their friends or family would look like beardless via a branded Wilkinson Sword lens. We also created LADbible's answer to First Dates, where bearded men went off halfway through the meal to have their beards shaved off. We even took the debate to the streets, creating our very own Fair Trade Shave Bar. The outcome? Consideration for the Wilkinson Sword brand among young men skyrocketed to 85% - a 23% increase. We saw a 14% increase in relevancy for the brand among 18-24 year old men and a 17% uplift in brand preference for 18-34s. And purchase intent among non-Wilkinson Sword customers leapt up by 12% after exposure to the Shave Bar TikTok. Plus, the campaign generated a +9.3% uplift in sales for the Wilkinson Sword Hydro 5 razor.