Independent agency Quality Meats is gearing up to work with the men’s grooming brand Manscaped on a national Super Bowl spot that will reportedly showcase the brand’s full-body grooming line. But before the Big Game debut, Manscaped’s latest campaign focuses on the brand’s expansion into facial-care products,
The brand’s latest spots, “Overshare” :30 and “Face Pics” :30, aim to broaden Manscaped’s image beyond its signature “below-the-belt grooming” products by spotlighting its facial grooming tools and skincare, humorously encouraging men to proudly put their faces forward. The 360-degree campaign features a viral video, TV spots, digital advertising, and activations across social media.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed in response to new Manscaped personal care ads among American males:
The Details:
Among American males 16+:
- The :30 “Overshare” was a clear success with the American male audience, soundly outperforming personal care norms (past year across all key creative components:
- Breakthrough (Attention and Likeability) was a particular strength, ranking in the 84th and 87th percentiles, respectively. The target audience found the ad highly relatable (88th percentile in Relevance) while also finding that it presented something new, a powerful combination for breaking through.
- Male viewers were most impressed by the product itself and the message of the new products, confirming that the ad’s commercial purpose was its most memorable takeaway. Importantly, the Manscaped brand was firmly cemented in the delivery, boasting an above-benchmark 74% unaided recall (+11 pts vs norm).
- That message was conveyed in a self-aware and Funny tone, contributing to the ad’s high Likeability and Watchability scores. Of course, humor is oftentimes not universal due to personal tastes (as seen in some Inappropriate signal firing here), though this did not significantly impact its overall strong performance.
- In fact, “Overshare” outpaced norms across all measured male age groups, with a particularly strong performance among the 16-20 and 21-35 male demos. This led to healthy consumer intent, with 55% of men reporting they were more/much more likely to purchase, compared to the 46% average.
- Breakthrough (Attention and Likeability) was a particular strength, ranking in the 84th and 87th percentiles, respectively. The target audience found the ad highly relatable (88th percentile in Relevance) while also finding that it presented something new, a powerful combination for breaking through.
- “Overshare” was the clear top performer vs the :30 “Face Pics”, demonstrating significantly broader and stronger appeal:
- “Face Pics” landed less impressively as an at-norm ad that struggled a bit with Likeability and feeling new.
- While “Overshare” resonated strongly with all age groups, “Face Pics” connected well with younger viewers and showed some weakness with the 50+ audience. The latter also saw less enthusiasm among Black/AA as well as Caucasian males.
- “Face Pics” landed less impressively as an at-norm ad that struggled a bit with Likeability and feeling new.
- Both ads successfully highlighted the product itself and the message as the Single Best Things impressing male viewers and were effective at driving action:
- As such, a rotation between the two spots could support business outcomes although overall appeal would point to favoring “Overshare” where possible.
- Emotional profiling of male commentary on each spot indicates that the humor in “Overshare” landed more positively while “Face Pics” sparked some stronger negative reactions:
- Sentiment on “Overshare” indicates that the “bait and switch” approach was effective, with many male viewers appreciating the unexpected twist from what initially appeared to be inappropriate content to a facial grooming product.
- Specifically, the “send face pics” concept resonated with men familiar with online dating and social media culture, helping to make the product relevant to contemporary male grooming concerns, but more conservative viewers or those less familiar reacted less positively. For these men, the humor was in poor taste or somewhat offensive, albeit in line with your brand ethos and something that is likely acceptable if reasonably small.
- The opening grabbed attention effectively, but necessarily created confusion for some viewers who felt misled initially, though most appreciated the reveal by ad’s end. This underscores the necessity of full viewing (non-skippable media).
- Importantly, the expansion from body to face grooming made logical sense to viewers and enjoyed positive response and interest.
- Sentiment on “Overshare” indicates that the “bait and switch” approach was effective, with many male viewers appreciating the unexpected twist from what initially appeared to be inappropriate content to a facial grooming product.
Sample comments on “Overshare” :30 among male viewers
“I love this ad because I can relate to this a lot, especially when online dating and sending a face pic!”
Male 21-35
“I’m starting to get into the grooming brand so Manscaped is the brand that I would consider because I see them a lot through YouTube creators talking about how great they are and I would like to try it for myself.”
Male 16-20
“Hilarious advertisement. An amazing bait and switch that’s sure to get people laughing and thinking about Manscaped again.”
Male 21-35
“I thought it was hilarious, but also relevant in today’s social media-incensed world.”
Male 36-49
“I thought the ad was pretty humorous. It definitely caught my attention and I could see it making men want it more.”
Male 21-35
“At first, it grabbed my attention with the questionable texts that appeared on the screen, but it turned even weirder than expected when I continued watching. The weird comments about men were just odd to see because it’s a product for men, but is also diluting the way men act to women as well. I have mixed feelings on what this company was trying to achieve because honestly, it doesn’t seem all that positive to me.”
Male 16-20
“Better grooming products sound appealing to me. I really need to look more into Manscaped products in general.”
Male 21-35
“The product helps a guy to look his best and feel confident about his hair.”
Male 50+
“I really don’t like Manscaped. I think they make disgusting ads that openly talk about genitals and post it on platforms that could be exposed to people of all ages, including underaged individuals. And I’m personally just absolutely sick of seeing their ads shoved in my face, peddling crotch-shaving tools that aren’t needed.”
Male 36-49
“Manscaped!! Great advertisement, stuck with me and had good humor.”
Male 36-49
“Manscaped offers nice quality products that can be used both for the face and the whole body as well, which is nice to have.”
Male 16-20
“It was a very clever way to promote a new product since Manscaped has been known for one thing.”
Male 21-35
- Compared to other well-received personal care ads airing over the past 90 days, “Overshare” found particularly strong appeal among males 16-20:
- However, Gillette and Old Spice were more successful at persuading male viewers overall to consider those brands.
- However, female viewers were notably more turned off by the new Manscaped ads vs competitive ads, underscoring the importance of targeting for best results:
- iSpot Media Measurement reports a slight favoring of “Overshare” in national linear Impression delivery over the period 10/6/25-11/6/25; however the older (2024) “The Boys Features” creatives are still airing on both linear and especially streaming:
- Commentary from male viewers on “Face Pics” suggests that while some men appreciated the humor, it was not as easily accepted as the approach employed in “Overshare:”
- A shorter form could be considered to get to the product even more quickly, or edits of the earlier humor could be tested.
- Despite more reservations, reactions to the product line were still positive (and intent among males was still above-norm).
- A shorter form could be considered to get to the product even more quickly, or edits of the earlier humor could be tested.
“Looks like a bad drug addiction commercial and was dark in many ways. I suggest going back to the drawing board and thinking of something more positive and a better light.”
Male 50+
“I thought it was really funny and definitely relatable as a man.”
Male 21-35
“I think it was a great ad, except for the whole sexually explicit material.”
Male 21-35
“It’s interesting to see them moving to a new product.”
Male 36-49
“I think the scenes moved too quickly to comprehend what the product brings to the table.”
Male 16-20
“I think the commercial is close to crossing the line. I think it’s in poor taste to insinuate sending dirty pictures. It makes the cast look like morons.”
Male 50+
“Manscaped has clippers for your face now.”
Male 36-49
“It was a funny ad because it made you think the opposite as well.”
Male 21-35
“I definitely need a new shaver so I’ll look into this more.”
Male 36-49
Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.
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Creative Agency: Quality Meats