Philips – Satinelle Ice Epilator
I know more about hair removal than most men will ever know.
I had just been appointed Global Creative Director for Philips at DDB.
My first big brief was for Satinelle Ice – A hair removal device with an ice pack attachment to make the process less painful.
We were a tight-knit creative, strategy, and account management team. We discussed the brief and an interesting thought came to mind – There is one thing all women believe…..Men are pathetic when it comes to pain.
So, the acid test for a gentle epilator is a man.
But we were selling glamour and beauty. It had to be a guy with fabulous legs.
Enter Karis Wilde….
We created an ad that featured a transgender dancer as the star, not the punchline. A truthful, biographical ad about a day in her life.
It was night and day between this and the ad that had preceded it. For the first time, we demonstrated the empathy that drives innovation at Philips.
I once showed it to Eddie Izzard who was moved to tears. He said, “I’ve waited 30 years to see something like that.”
As well as in ad awards festivals, Karis also featured in an exhibition at the V&A Museum.
