Barbasol

I grew up using Barbasol shave cream. The one, clear reason I chose to shave with Barbasol was because that's what my Dad used. It was good shave cream. Not the best or the most expensive. In fact, it was one of the least expensive brands--but still good enough. It worked just fine for me.

As a marketing guy, I used to marvel that I had never seen or heard an ad for Barbasol. The product seemed an orphan ... abandoned. Its only "marketing" was its distinctive packaging design. Barbasol, in case you haven't seen it, looks like the barber pole. Thus the name.

This all changed recently when I heard a radio spot for Barbasol. It aired during a sports broadcast on my local AM station. Actually, I think I was listening to a Saturday afternoon broadcast of our outstanding West Virginia University men's basketball team. Presently ranked #12 in the nation - but that's another story!

The radio ad was a good one. Something I heard stuck with me. The sound bite that caught my attention was the voice talent saying, "I'm the first Barbasol spokesperson since Babe Ruth and Knute Rockne." For those of you who are not sports fans, let me tell you that is highly esteemed company. This factoid stuck in my mind for about two weeks until I had time to do a bit of research on the Web today. I learned that the new spokesman is Olympic Swimming Champion and five-time gold medalist Gary Hall.

Barbasol Real Men consistently perform in situations when it matters most. That’s why five-time gold medalist Gary Hall Jr. was named Barbasol’s inaugural Real Man. Time after time Hall has delivered when his team and country needed it most. Even out of the pool, Hall has consistently delivered awareness and funding in the fight against Type-1 Diabetes – a disease the once “World’s Fastest Man in the Water” suffers from himself.

Upon further research, it appears that the manufacturer has begun investing again in the brand, following an almost 20-year advertising hiatus. It will be fun for me to see how the Barbasol marketing campaign plays out. And I just might switch back ... you never know.

My hat is off to the marketing geniuses at Barbasol (or their agency) for catching my attention with a first-rate radio ad.