It could well be the new hipster trend to sculpt and cut critters into bushy bristles. But the “beastly” designs are in fact a part of New Zealand-based shaving company’s Schick’s #freeyourskin ad campaign aimed to encourage chaps to tame their unruly facial follicles. The Auckland-based Y&R advertising agency behind the Photoshopped beards tells Metro why a man’s “outer animal” needs to be kept under control.
Beards can look a little wild but how did you come with this artsy animal style?
Being an ad agency, we’re not short of creatives sporting unkempt facial hair, most likely resulting from a lack of hygiene. When quizzed, they all confessed that their beards aren’t actually that pleasant to live with. This led us to the insight that beards actually take on a persona of their own – a very clingy, irritating persona, much like a small pest.
Beards are in a bristling boom period right now, so why are you trying to get men to cull their facial hair?
It’s a funny thing really. Beards are clearly very popular amongst the alternative hipster community. Ironically most hipsters are now sporting matching beards and the trend has now caught on with the mainstream. It’s just a matter of time before they hang up their expensive kale-infused beard wax and pick up a Schick razor. Another reason to trim is that multiple studies have found that women actually find beards kinda gross.
It’s reported that women find beards more attractive because it creates greater symmetry and a stronger jawline. So are the men with the feral facial hair getting much female attention?
Even Dolph Lundgren’s jawline would get lost under the beards our models are sporting. By trimming your facial hair back to a manageable length, perhaps the classic five o’clock shadow, you’ll be able to groom it into a chiseled shape that would land you a part in any crappy 80’s action film.
