Gillette and Grey showcased the brutal side of Olympic training with a three-minute ad Perfect Isn’t Pretty featuring Brazilian soccer player Neymar Jr., Chinese swimmer Ning Zetao, British cyclist Andy Tennant and US decathlete Ashton Eaton as they work toward the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

A shortened version will air during the opening ceremonies on August 5 on NBC, in a 60-second spot reserved by the P&G Global Brand Officer Marc Pritchard and the corporate Olympic marketing team for best ad.

Scenes that follow the four athletes highlight the sacrifices, pain and anguish that goes into the fight for a gold medal—from 4 a.m. workouts in the rain to not being able to hold down fluids; to fights with spouses and less time for family; to frustrating injuries and a slow submerge in a ice bath.

The footage is set to a custom music track written by Sia, and featuring Grammy-winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid, rapper Pusha T., and percussion accompaniment Banda Olodum.

Gillette also released a behind the scenes look at the making of the track.

“It’s a little different spin on what you see from Gillette,” Carlos de Jesus, North American Shave Care brand director for Procter & Gamble Co, told Ad Age. “You see the behind-the-scenes work these guys put in every day to be the best.”

The ad, which incorporates Gillette’s tagline of “Best a Man Can Get” is meant to parallel the challenges the company goes through to deliver “the best razor in the world,” De Jesus said.

“We were inspired,” he said, “by that grittiness from the athletes.”

READ MORE: Ad Age, Adweek

Tags:


  Save as PDF