Harry’s, once known primarily as a direct-to-consumer razor company, has unveiled its first-ever umbrella brand campaign titled “Man, That Feels Good.”
Created with agency Zulu Alpha Kilo, the campaign represents a shift for the 12-year-old brand as it expands its focus beyond shaving products to position itself as a comprehensive men’s grooming company with offerings across the shaving, body, hair, and skincare categories.
The awareness campaign is running across major streaming platforms including Hulu, Netflix, Peacock, ESPN, Disney+, NBC Sports, and Prime Video.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the campaign among the target male audience.
The Details:
- The :15 “Harry’s Products Can’t Make You a Different Man but They Can Make You Feel Great, Man” was seen as the most informative of the new :15 spots, likely linked to the opening audio and visuals of Harry’s “premium grooming products” vs a focus on a single line item as in the other short form ads:
- Male viewers saw this spot as announcing a broader Change as well, leading to strong Desire.
- Each of the :15 spots achieved breakthrough (Attention and Likeability) and Relevance ahead of the average personal care ad over the past year.
- Male viewers saw this spot as announcing a broader Change as well, leading to strong Desire.
- “Can’t Make You a Different Man” built the brand most effectively, with men isolating it as the Single Best Thing about this ad at an above-norm rate (and more so than the other two spots):
- Harry’s unaided recall was also highest among those viewing this spot, at 77% (+9 to +10 pts above the other :15’s and +14 pts over benchmark).
- However, the single-product-focused ads not surprisingly encouraged purchase a bit more successfully. Still, each creative outpaced category norm levels of consideration among males, led by “Guide to Handsome Bad-Boy Aura” at 62% Top 2 Box (+14 pts over personal care norms).
- Harry’s unaided recall was also highest among those viewing this spot, at 77% (+9 to +10 pts above the other :15’s and +14 pts over benchmark).
- Second-by-second trace results (below, for “Can’t Make You a Different Man”), suggest the new approach is particularly engaging to men 16-20 – but opening engagement is low during which the spots appear to be similar to other personal care spots:
- This may suggest non-skippable media, if possible, as a similar pattern was seen for each of the :15’s reviewed.
- Comments from this audience on “Can’t Make You a Different Man” reflect a bit of confusion on first view due to the quick pace and turn in content; however, repeated views will reduce this effect. Men were largely glad to see hints of additional products from the brand, and found the :15 entertaining.
- This may suggest non-skippable media, if possible, as a similar pattern was seen for each of the :15’s reviewed.
Male viewers on “Harry’s Products Can’t Make You a Different Man…” :15
“I like seeing the ad for Harry’s razors, and the possibility that there may be more Harry’s products coming soon.”
Male 50+
“I thought that was a good commercial. It was short and sweet and straight to the point and had some humor.”
Male 21-35
“Been trying to find a good shaver. Would love to try it out.”
Male 16-20
“It was good. I love body wash and it’s a good brand.”
Male 21-35
“I don’t particularly want to see a man showering.”
Male 36-49
“The commercial was a little sloppy and could use a little more explaining. It was hard to understand–until the end–what it was about.”
Male 36-49
“It’s great at catching your attention and making you want to know what’s going on. A good ad for Harry’s.”
Male 50+
“It gives a rugged feeling for the razor, along with humor as well.”
Male 36-49
“I’ve never used that product but it looks interesting.”
Male 21-35
“They want us to know about the soaps that they have.”
Male 16-20
- iSpot media measurement shows no linear (or streaming) support behind the new campaign through 4/14/25 for the M18+ audience, with the “Three Regular Guys” spots dominating brand activity:
- While “Three Regular Guys” also sparked very strong consumer intent within the male audience, both ads are showing signs of creative wear in-market highlighting the need for new creative.
- As such, Harry’s might consider these new :15 spots at least as additions in media rotations to keep the brand fresh in the consumer’s mind while still encouraging purchase.
- While “Three Regular Guys” also sparked very strong consumer intent within the male audience, both ads are showing signs of creative wear in-market highlighting the need for new creative.
- The chart below presents the best-received men’s personal care ads over the past year within the male audience, reflecting the strong level of competition in the category:
- The second graph plots the newest Harry’s :15’s with key competitive personal care brand ads over the past year.
- “Harry’s Products Can’t Make You a Different Man” placed in the top 10% of personal care ads among males over the time period.
- The second graph plots the newest Harry’s :15’s with key competitive personal care brand ads over the past year.
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Creative Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo