You Go, Norelco!

This is probably the funniest product introduction site I’ve ever seen. It’s very well done and whatever agency created it for Philips Norelco should take a bow. Philips Norelco should also take a bow for having the guts to actually run it.

Warning: If you work within earshot of easily offended people, you might want to put on headphones.

It’s the perfect type of campaign for a potentially awkward product like this, and it’s pretty much by definition not offensive to a single person in their target audience.

Anyway, I’m just doing my part to keep this viral. It’s pretty hilarious. Make sure to hit up all the options in the main menu when the intro is over.

Are there many other recent examples of well-done, agency-created viral Flash campaigns? I feel like the memorable ones don’t come around often enough.

UPDATE: Thanks to Gregory Bowers who informs us that this site was a joint effort between Struck Graphic Design and Tribal DDB. Bravo!
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49 Responses:

  1. That is one of the best product launches I have ever seen! Brilliance!

  2. David says:

    This is brilliant … although with the product on screen for only about 5 seconds in total – it’s quite a risk. But why not, it’s a great ad.

  3. lm says:

    now how about the same kind of product advert for ladies will look like i wonder?

  4. Sorry, man. It’s been viral for a while now. Gizmodo had a little write-up about the Bodygroom. You quite possibly missed it because you had trimmed your RSS feeds.

    Yeah, pun intended.

    (Editor’s Note: Thanks, but I’m pretty sure this is fairly new. The link you used above goes to another mini site of theirs which isn’t half as good.)

  5. Oh my god, did they really rhyme modem with scrotum? I’d be laughing if I didn’t suddenly have too much info about your nether regions Mike.

  6. Bruce Boughton says:

    Love that music vid!

  7. This is some fantastic viral work on their behalf. I came across it earlier today, spend a pack of time on the site, and have forwarded it on to at least half-a-dozen friends. My hat off to everyone behind it!

  8. Shane says:

    The music video is the best part. Too funny!

  9. Jared Lyon says:

    Another example of a Flash based campaign that I saw and really liked is for this paper type called Magnecote, the world’s most attractive paper.

    http://www.magnecote.com/attractive/

    Not as diverse or as deep as the Norelco one, but I still found it amusing.

  10. Fred says:

    First time I have seen this. Thanks Mike, that was some funny *BLEEP*

  11. Shaun says:

    This also explains why they had no problem doing the “tea-bag” stunt on Howard Stern earlier in the week.

    It certainly does take [picture of balls] to do this type of promo. well done.

  12. All that money and time, and they still couldn’t manage a “background-color: #fff” in their CSS? Does anyone test with non-default settings anymore?

  13. Now that took b*#&#s.

  14. Jeff L says:

    I had that forwarded to me yesterday and I did find it quite amusing. I’ll be interested if any of Norelco’s competitors come out with any similiar.

  15. Oh my goodness that is hilarious!!!

  16. That was great, the only thing that would make it better is if they had a downloadable ipod-ready version of that music video :)

  17. Janet says:

    Haha, will forward this to my guy friends.

  18. Viral marketing at it’s best. I forgot I was being advertised to and ended up sending it to half my buddy list. The world needs more advertisements like this.

    The music video is hilarious.

  19. sean coon says:

    mike, did you see this sports bra flash campaign?

  20. jon says:

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

  21. gb says:

    I was just informed (by his wife) that a friend of mine was involved in the creation of said flash site. He is now my new hero.

  22. gb says:

    Just to clarify, the site was done by Struck Design (here in SLC) and Tribal DDB (new york).

  23. “The longer you wait, the longer your pubes get”

    ROFL

    Make sure to click on the Basics and then leave it running to hear his “waiting jokes”.

  24. You’re absolutely right, Mike. This video is new. I suppose I saw the kiwis and the apricot and remembered the one from last summer.

  25. Greg P. says:

    I laughed my ‘bleep bleep’ flippin ‘bleepidy bleep’ off!

    This one is destined as a classic!

    Thanks for the heads up on the content. That might have been a nice one to explain to my cube neighbors (who are all women) had I played that at work :)

  26. Mike D. says:

    gb: Great info! Thanks!

    Greg P.: Photos of cubicle girls please.

  27. Jeff says:

    I just ordered mine :-)

  28. Hmm, while loading the page I noticed there is a typo in the footer. It’s Koninklijke not Koninkjijke. Thats one of those things clients tend to get very upset about ;)

    The movie itself is taking ages to load, so I guess their servers aren’t up to the load. Anyway, the movie is taking to much time to load, so I’ll watch it another time…

  29. Opie says:

    As one of Web 2.0’s most eligible bachelors it is key that I keep my $hit tight for the ladies. A brazilian wax is just to plain painful and normal clippers make nicks and cuts. So after hearing about the promotion on Stern, then this site I had to have one. So I ran down to tarjay. picked one up, then ran home for one of the most pleasurable b@ll shaving experiences of all time. Smooth as a baby’s bottom.

  30. Scott says:

    It’s so nice to see Norelco have the kiwis to do this. I would have loved to have heard the fights. I wonder how high up the support went.

    That muic video should be on iTunes.

  31. Priceless. I think this abrasive approach is appropriate for men’s grooming. Thanks.

  32. I don’t know where I saw this the first time around, but I definitely called over some of the guys in the office and had a good laugh. Wicked awesome.

  33. Great find! I love it from top to bottom!
    {bow to the creative director}

  34. Excellent! I’m buying one.

  35. So I’m thinking that maybe I might just buy one of these, so I pull up the product on Amazon and found a hilarious surprise. Look closely.

    And here’s a screenshot in case you miss it or the page changes.

  36. RT says:

    Adam Jones directed it and his crew edited. Jeff Meachum is the actor. Tribal DDB’s idea, design and writing.

  37. Marco says:

    Philips has always been a rather good but very DULL brand. Most of the time their advertisement wasn’t anywhere near the quality of what other brands are doing. This one caught me by total surprise. It seems Philips finally hired a kick ass advertisement agency. It’s the best piece of viral marketing I’ve seen in ages. I too sent it to many people and linked to it from my blog. Something as great as this simply deserves the attention.

    I’m getting one too but I’ll pass on the Brokeback Mountain DVD ;)

  38. I love that guy. They couldn’t find better one.

  39. Dale says:

    Just checked the amazon link, the movies Capote and King Kong are also listed :) I wonder if they are trying to tell us something ;)

  40. alan says:

    Its great to see at last Philips taking the advertising of their brand seriously and investing in new advertising strategies.
    They have a great history and brand awareness in the electric shaver / trimmer market and with this style of promotion will no dought dominate the market for a vey long time.

  41. Jack says:

    Yes, Phillips takes the advertising of their brand seriously by successfully targeting egotistical and heterosexual males. If Phillips continues to engender these one sided ideologies, I would not call this a success.

  42. Ken says:

    I just bought this product last week at Walmart. Although, the ad was extremely comical I have yet to see Norelco come out with dual foil razors. This one should have been one. Not all men have fine hair to eliminate from their legs. Good thing my a** had fine hairs or I would be in trouble. It takes me waaaaay too long just to shave my legs and gluteus regions. Not to mention the ingrowns I got near my pubic line. Good thing for loofa sponges there. The idea was great as there are more women out there that just don’t want to see a walking carpet. However, Norelco needs to re-market this as a dual foil and produce better cutters. I give this item a 5 out of 10

  43. Hilarious Philips Bodygroom site

    Found this gem of a product intro site via Mike Davidson.
    Philips Bodygroom
    It can be somewhat offensive to delicate ears, so use headphones if you must – but make sure you go through all the menu options..
    P.S. It takes a while to load, so be patien…

  44. Philips Bodygroom

    Philips Bodygroom, a hilarious viral marketing site (via)

  45. you are hairy like animal

    Norelco has a new, online Flash ad campaign. Brilliant. It’s mostly work-safe, but I guess that depends on where you work.
    [via]

  46. iSKOblog says:

    “i love the extra optical inch on my d!@k”

    you might know that bodygrooming is a sensitive issue. that is, until now. philips norelco has launched a new product called 'bodygroom'. 'bodygroom' has a sleek, ergonomic design for safe and easy way to trim down that excess body hai…

  47. Shave Everywhere: I Love My Extra Inch

    An extra optical inch? Brilliant advertising.
    Now, please excuse me while I head out to, er, uhm, pick up some groceries. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
    (via Mike Davidson)

  48. to do: rhyme “Modem” and “Scrotum”

    For rhyming “modem” and “scrotum” (check the music video), and for coining the phrase “optical inch” (great band name, btw), I love this new bodyshave viral. Optical inch! I’m not going to be able to stop sayin…

  49. “Edgy” Advertising

    Check out this interactive ad for Norelco’s Body Groom shaver.  Will I go out tomorrow and by one? No but it sure is memorable and funny to someone like me, who probably falls into the demographic the ad is designed to appeal to .  It surely is…

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