Inside: Gillette Venus’ portrayal of 'strong women'

#WhatsYourRepeat by Gillette Venus, conceptualized by Grey India saluted the grit of women who go through life, chase their dreams, on repeat. We get talking with the brand to delve further into the campaign insight.

Featuring women trailblazers both in front of and behind the camera, with a female director, cast and vocals, Gillette Venus recently rolled out a film, #WhatsYourRepeat - a modern and progressive portrayal of Indian women as it celebrates ‘real’ girls and their authentic stories.

Created by Grey India, the campaign film was directed by Afshan Shaikh and featured professional badminton player Daman Raj, slam poet Barbie Rajput, travel influencer Srishti Tehri, and actress Ananya Panday.

Campaign Insight

With #WhatsYourRepeat, Gillette Venus wanted to pay tribute to the women trailblazers of today, who hustle hard and do what they love, on repeat. The idea stems from the girl of today, who is a ‘hustler’ – she works hard, chills with her friends, makes time for self-care and even manages to find time for social causes. The objective was to portray her in the most ‘authentic’ manner possible.

The Brief

When Venus approached Grey India, they were very clear about two things - one to ensure they break the boundaries of this category and second, to ensure that what the creative team creates is so real and relatable that it resonates.

“So, this one is for girls who celebrate the grind and live their dreams, every day. Inspired by them, we’ve featured stories of real girls who embody this attitude,” commented Juneston Mathana, Group Creative Director, GREY Group, India.

The soundtrack captures the attitude of these girls and what they stand for.

The Ananya Panday
factor

The decision to have Ananya Panday as the brand ambassador was easy, says Karthik Srivatsan, Country Category Head –Grooming, P&G Indian Subcontinent as she has been using Venus since she started in the category and hence it was a very natural fit.

“The association worked out beautifully for us. In the film as you will observe that she is portrayed as Ananya the girl, her real everyday self, not a part that she is playing in a movie”, he added.  Just like any other strong young girl, she goes through her everyday hustle. Being an actor, her hustle is to prep behind the scenes and rehearse on repeat until she nails the performance.

BTS

Srivatsan thinks that the most interesting part of this campaign was the gang of girls themselves. “What most people don’t know is that this film was almost an all-girls crew. Directed by Afshan Shaikh with an all-women cast”.

Adding to the girl power is the rap artist Raja Kumari - she is the voice behind the empowering tune, giving it her signature touch where she joined hands with Gully Boy fame Dub Sharma for the sound and music creation. “Seeing all these powerful women come together and create magic both in front of, and behind the camera was amazing,” he exclaimed.

Media Mix

The brand collaborated with women achievers from different fields including YouTuber Prajakta Koli, creator Nagma Mirajkar, doodle artist Neha, stand up comedian Sejal Bhat, Biker Vishakha, to narrate how do they keep up with the ‘never give up’ attitude and chase their callings on repeat as a part of their digital strategy.   

Also Read: Gillette rolls out the second edition of #ShavingStereotypes

It is a digital-led campaign where Gillette Venus amplified the message across its social channels - the first phase was about putting the message out there.  While the second phase is witnessing influencers joining the conversation. “Going forward, we will continue to bring out more authentic stories of women trailblazers from varied backgrounds, showcasing how they continue to ‘hustle’ and pave their way to success in life,” shared Srivatsan.  

He believes that women will continue to define and re-define themselves and as a brand, Gillette Venus aims to continue to be a partner and an enabler in their unique journey.