Razorbomb Your Friends and Win $10,000 from Schick
In a move well-positioned to knock planking down a couple of notches as an internet meme, Schick is offering a $10,000 prize to the razorbombing picture with the most views:
"It can be either an original photo of you shaving the world, or a picture using our photo overlay tool.
Once your photo is up, send a Tweet with the link to @schickxtreme3 and then start sharing it on your Facebook page, on StumbleUpon, on Reddit -- anywhere you can think of around the Web that will bring traffic to your posts."
Schick Japan Tempts Young Shavers with Anime Figure
It's always interesting to me to see how companies market their products in other countries. We see advertising and marketing promotions targeted to us in the region where we live but we rarely see how it's done elsewhere. The new Schick One Piece promotion in Japan is a bit different than one we'd see here in the U.S.:
"The Schick One Piece Campaign seeks to piggyback on the success of "One Piece", "the most popular manga series of all time in Japan and one of the most popular manga series worldwide" according to Wikipedia.
With over 230 million volumes of the series having been sold since its inception in August of 1997, One Piece boasts enviable name recognition among Schick Japan's target market: young men reaching for their first razor."
The Latest Shaving Gimmick You Can Safely Ignore: Scented Razors
Like just about every other industry, manufacturers of shaving gear are getting caught up in marketing gimmicks, hoping that we'll buy before we notice that that's what they are: gimmicks. This week's perpetrator is Schick.
Seriously, Schick? What happened to focusing on getting a great shave? Evidently it doesn't matter how well your razor shaves, as long as it smells like it does...
The handle of the razor (rubber, of course), is embedded with a fragrance which is supposed to evoke the feeling of just having shaved - a scent said to have notes of rosemary, spearmint, and citrus.
To this shaving enthusiast, nothing could be more annoying than a disposable razor, except a disposable razor which has its own smell.
Schick Hydro® Blast is kicking off their "Have a Blast" campaign, with chances to win free travel gear, vacation trips, and other exclusive prizes, ranging from iPads to digital cameras.
Enter to win on the Schick Hydro Facebook page. Daily prizes will be awarded on the site from April 4th through July 1st, and a grand prize trip will be awarded in September.
Shaving and Gaming: Limited Edition PS3 Packs from Schick
"Edge® Shave Gel and Schick® Quattro® Titanium want to help you Get Your Edge by giving you free Downloadable Content from top PS3® games - KZ3, GT5, and inFAMOUS 2. Pick up any specially marked, limited edition Edge® or Schick® Quattro® Titanium product and visit edgeshave.com/ps3 for full details.
DLC includes:
KZ3:
Retro Map Pack featuring 2 of the most popular maps from Killzone 2.
Unlock Points - Get instant access to 3 Unlock Points to use on the weapon or ability of your choice and get the edge in Killzone 3 Multiplayer
GT5:
2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS - "Edge Special"
inFAMOUS 2
In-game power: Sniper Blast. A long-range blast with a narrow area of effect. Good for blasting enemies off of rooftops, or knocking guys down across the street.
The Man of 1000 Faces campaign, which launched this week, was created to promote Schick's new Quattro Titanium Freestyle razor.
From the website, Man of 1000 Faces, you are taken to a Facebook page where you can participate in the Shave Off challenge. The challenge requires you to copy and beat the facial hairstyle of the man displayed on the landing page and upload your image to be voted on. The website also features comedic video content, shaving tips and a soon-to-be-released iPad and iPhone App.
Weekly winners will receive $1000, with those who attempt to beat the style by coming up with their own being in the running for a major prize of $15,000.
Japanese Shaving Commercials: Extreme or Just Extremely Weird?
Japanese pop and media culture is baffling to most of us, maybe because we're most often exposed to the weirdness, and not the everyday experience. Late night overdubbed Japanese game shows give us the impression that perhaps everything in Japan is very bizarre, and then YouTube confirms it. So I guess it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that companies marketing to the Japanese people are also using very strange messages to sell their products.
Here's a set of ads for Schick Protectors III, complete with spandex, that will leave you just shaking your head (and Google Translate version of the title beneath each):
Back in the day a razor had one blade. Simple. Understandable. Then someone got the brilliant idea to put two blades on every razor cartridge. Genius. We can charge more money. And thus the razor arms race was born. Now we've got four and five bladed behemoths, with micro-vibrating powered handles, and edging blades for sideburns and those hard to reach places. What else could you possibly jam on to a razor? (Wait, I just remembered The Art of Shaving special edition Gillette Fusion Power razor with built in flashlight!)
OK, so back to the question at hand - what else could you possibly jam on to a razor?
Schick's answer - a trimmer. If you haven't already seen the Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmer, which came out last year, say hello to the latest in shaving improvements. This razor has a four-bladed cartridge for a super-close shave, an edging blade for keeping your hairlines straight, a powered handle for a smooth comfortable shaving, and now trimmer for taming your bushy sideburns. (The trimmer is at the bottom of the handle; see picture on right.)
And as ridiculous as it sounds, I really like it. I haven't been a huge fan of Schick razors before, but this one won me over. The Quattro has a big, beefy, rubberized handle which allows you to get a nice grip. It's certainly heavier than razors of 10 years ago, but for me that's a plus. It feels sturdy.
The trimmer is great. I typically get my hair cut every five weeks, and by the end of that fourth week my sideburns are looking a little unkempt. I'd gotten pretty adept at using a comb and an electric razor to thin things out, by it was always a precarious operation. The Quattro's trimmer makes this task easy. There are three settings depending on how close you want to trim. (Schick's site claims there are four. What's the fourth? No trimmer attachment on? Oh marketing department...) My advice - don't take the plastic trimmer head off. You'll lose it.
One thing to note - the Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmer is loud. Of the three powered razors out there - Quattro, Fusion, and Mach3 - it is by far the loudest. Not a huge deal in my book, but worth mentioning.
So there you have it. A Schick razor that was finally good enough for me. I think you'll like it too, and I think you'll really appreciate the trimmer. How much you want to bet Gillette adds a trimmer to their Fusion this year?
Interested in one of those hot new Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmers? You can get one for free. Here's the catch - you have to endure a pillow fight with two scantily-clad women. Oh, the things we do in the name of shaving.
First, get a picture of yourself, or someone else you want to see pillow fighting two women. Next, click on over to TrimFlixx.com and upload your photo. Watch it, laugh, wish you were there, and then save your movie. (That's the important part.) After that there will be an option to register and receive a free Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmer.
Two things to note - one: the girls sound suggestive, so don't open TrimFlixx.com at work. And two: the site will email you a registration confirmation with your password in the clear. Guys, haven't we learned anything about privacy?
A big congratulations to Eric Michael Hopper, winner of the Schick "Get Experimental" contest on YouTube. Eric's winner entry was "Clean Up Your Act", which follows the life of an aspiring singer and his feline companion. Personally, I think the cat stole the show.
I have to say - advertisers on Madison Avenue won't be fearing for their day jobs. The armchair director in me says they're all about 15 seconds too long. They're fun, and they incorporate the Schick Quattro Titanium, but they all have an amateur feel. Don't get me wrong - there's some great work here. My personal favorite - A Hobbit's Tale to Smoothness - is worthy of Peter Jackson short. Just not feature length. (I know, everyone's a critic.)
Vote For the Best Schick "Get Experimental" Videos
You may remember back in February we told you about Schick's Get Experimental contest where one of your videos uploaded to YouTube would win $25,000 and 15 minutes of fame. Well, submission time is over, and now you've got until April 8th to exercise your constitutional right to vote.
Last week we mentioned the contest by Schick and YouTube where you could win your 15 minutes of fame by uploading a video of your groomin', groovy self. Here's a little tidbit we overlooked - you can get a free Schick Quattro when you register. Just head on over to www.youtube.com/schick and click on "Register here first" (which takes you to this page). Pretty simple.
I have to say, Schick is pretty generous with their razors. Seems like every other month there's another opportunity to get a free razor from Schick. There's really no excuse not to have one if you're at all interested.
Update
OK, I spoke to fast. I just went through the registration process, clicked the button for the free Schick razor, and got this somewhat truncated message:
Sorry, our supplies for this sample have been
Have been what? Depleted? Stolen? Infested? Condemned?
Get Your 15 Minutes of Fame from Schick and YouTube
I'm into nuggets, y'all!
I'm into nuggets, y'all!
Ever dream of being those guys who made a YouTube video and suddenly found themselves on national TV? Well now's your chance. Schick and YouTube are asking you to create a shaving video featuring the Schick Quattro Titanium and yours truly. No nudity, violence, profanity, yadda, yadda, yadda... You know what'll fly and what won't.
Upload your video to www.youtube.com/schick by March 18th. Vote on videos between March 25th and April 8th. Winner will be announced on April 15th. You could win $25,000! Sweet!
But more importantly, you could win cred. That's way more valuable than manna or linden dollars.
Razorbomb Your Friends and Win $10,000 from Schick
It's always interesting to me to see how companies market their products in other countries. We see advertising and marketing promotions targeted to us in the region where we live but we rarely see how it's done elsewhere. The new 
Schick Hydro® Blast is kicking off their "Have a Blast" campaign, with chances to win free travel gear, vacation trips, and other exclusive prizes, ranging from iPads to digital cameras. 
Japanese pop and media culture is baffling to most of us, maybe because we're most often exposed to the weirdness, and not the everyday experience. Late night overdubbed Japanese game shows give us the impression that perhaps everything in Japan is very bizarre, and then YouTube confirms it. So I guess it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that companies marketing to the Japanese people are also using very strange messages to sell their products.
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