Brilliant or Bogus: The Billie Brand
A year ago, I kept getting ad after ad for a clothing subscription box. You are supposed to fill out a simple style quiz and they have stylists that will send you clothing items to try at home. Then, you are given the option to purchase or return them with free shipping. A few social media influencers I followed raved how good the stylists were at coordinating outfits to your personal tastes and how convenient it could be to get new stylish clothing pieces without leaving the couch. I finally caved and filled out my profile expecting to hit the jackpot. I was quickly disappointed when I received my box. It was nothing I could picture myself wearing and was out of my price range despite the clear instructions I gave in the questionnaire. Once again, I fell victim to a product that posed itself to be life changing and an incredible value. I thought that the Billie Razor subscription was another one of those deceiving ads, until I tested their products and understood the hype for myself. The Billie Razor ad gained the audience’s attention with its bright and joyful colors, and bold word choice. They made enticing claims it could shave through any amount of hair showing a diverse and inclusive cast of normal everyday people with normal amounts of body hair. The ad promised a cost-effective product with superior quality in a convenient package that arrives to your door on a regular basis.
Billie’s advertisement made use of vivid colors to get the audience’s attention to what they were trying to sell. The companies signature colors are yellow, light blue, pink, and red. They made it a point to use all those colors in their commercial. The color pink was most prominent. According to an article by Lindsay Kramer, pink conveys the feelings of fun, feminine, and upbeat. Pink draws in the female audience while making them feel like the product is fun to use. The female-run businesses tend to use the color to show their pride in their femininity. At the end of the advertisement, a woman walks up to a large pink house. This gave a sense of the woman being powerful and successful. Billie mainly appeals to a younger crowd; they use yellow to represent youthfulness and warmth. Specifically, they did a flashback of a girl in her childhood bedroom with yellow walls, she said “I haven’t been this smooth since I had braces”. This gave a feeling that using their razor will make you feel youthful. The use of strategic branding and colors in tandem with energetic word choice aided in relating to the targeted audience for the razor company.
In the 30-second-long commercial, they used outstanding phrasing to describe the razor and subscription services. The commercial was inspired from actual customer reviews, through actors. In the first ‘scene’ a girl says, “Billie is like the unicorn of razors”. It goes on to repeat that phrase to signify how unique and rare the quality of the product is. Another actor only says the word “obsessed” to describe the razor. An additional actor compared the razor’s performance to some sort of ‘witchcraft”. The word choice was meticulously selected to make the viewers wonder what is so special about this razor compared to standard women’s razors. The last grab at the end of the commercial was $9 and FREE shipping. Most consumers perk up when they hear the word free. Free shipping is one thing that can encourage someone on the fence to jump on the opportunity to make a purchase. Amazon uses free shipping as encouragement for their customer to spend $25 per order to receive free shipping. We have fallen for ‘free’ shipping and adding an additional item to our cart just to get free shipping when the shipping cost would have been equal to the cost of the extra item ordered. Consumers see or hear the word free and they become blinded by the smooth marketing tactic. The tempting claims of what the razor can do spawns curiosity in the viewers.
Advertisements are successful when they make convincing claims. The opening scene of the commercial shows a person with long and thick underarm hair being shaved smooth in one swipe. Sierra Schultzzie put this claim to the test in her Youtube video. During time stamps 9:25–11:27 of the video she grew out her underarm hair to get similar results, she debunked the theory and had to do multiple swipes to achieve the results in the commercial. The way they filmed and edited the segment made the viewer believe they were able to shave through all the hair in one swipe, when it took multiple swipes to get that smooth. The claim was exaggerated just enough to grab the consumers attention, but not entirely false to cause legal troubles for the company. Claims made by a familiar demographic are equally as convincing to the claims made within the advertisement.
Relatable characters and situations are helpful in winning over the audience. The ad had a diverse cast, showing multiple body shapes and sizes as well as different ethnicities. Not every girl is the size of a toothpick with perfectly tanned legs and flowy blonde hair. As humans we are constantly looking to relate to others, seeing an advertisement with someone that resembles us makes us feel included and form connections making the product seem more attractive. Aerie, an intimate apparel company, has had great success with their ad campaigns that are well-known because of their choice to not retouch any photos. Models are from all varied backgrounds and ages, some with scars, and tattoos. All things most companies would consider flaws, Aerie chooses to include in their campaigns, so everyone feels included and empowered. Billie is a female owned brand that is supportive of all women and whether they choose to groom themselves or not. Their most recent campaign, Project Body Hair, was launched to break the stigma that women should hide their body hair. That ad as well as the “Unicorn of Razors” used people from all walks of life to fill their cast. Billie set their costs at an attainable price range to ensure all their customers have the opportunity to access quality hygiene products on a regular basis.
Billie promises to automatically mail razor cartridges to your doorstep at a set price at your desired frequency. After a starter kit is purchased for $9, it enrolls you in a subscription where each month or every other month you get replacement blades for the same price of the starter kit, always shipping for free. Americans love convenience. A necessity that is normally forgotten until it is too late, is now at our fingertips to be shipped out without having to worry about running out. The math works out at about $2.25 per replacement cartridge, which is affordable for most budgets. Most store-bought disposable razors are comparable in price, but they are not met in the convenience and quality of a Billie razor. The bottom line for most consumers is cost, the commercial provided attractive pricing to appeal to their consumers. The low cost alone is appealing enough to most to at least try the product out, regardless of if you decide to cancel your subscription after your first shipment.
The apparel subscription box left me with little faith in the subscription box industry. I am glad I gave another subscription box a chance. Yes, Billie is a different concept than an apparel company, but I was still weary if I would like the product. Billie exceeded my expectations and I am proud to support a female-owned business. The Unicorn of Razors commercial captivated their target audience through a well-structured piece of work. They strategically used certain colors to evoke certain emotions on their viewers. Careful considerations were made when writing an engaging script. The claims that prompted curiosity in consumers added to their product’s overall attractiveness. Inclusivity in advertising aided emotional connections. Clear and fair pricing, as well as well-timed replenishment was the icing on the cake for customers.
