Not so long ago, just a few months in fact, it was not at all easy to write an ad that broaches the subject of masculinity. It seemed as though people were very touchy about what a brand can and cannot say and do. Gillette found that out when it was given a resounding wallop for daring to suggest men can be better than they are currently.

Now masculinity is funny. Apparently, it’s OK to laugh at or with the new “unrugged” male.

Men can even want to be like him, so long as he is just a bit ridiculous. Or perhaps men have been able to laugh at themselves more readily than women. Axe has been getting young men to do that for a very long time and the brand’s current bloke in a bubble bath suggests that the brand is unperturbed by the spectre of scorn.

Perhaps this is what has emboldened BETC Paris. Veet’s male is anything but rugged and that is heightened by setting him against both the man’s man stereotype and the tradition of testosterone bragging.

The film was directed by comedic whizz, Greg Bray, through Stink Paris.

Credits:

Advertising Agency: BETC Paris

Executive Creative Director: Alasdhair Macgregor

Creative Director: Mathieu Nevians

Creative Director: Marie-Adeline Bailo

Agency Producer: Koniba Pléah

Production Company: StinkParis

Director: Greg Bray

Executive Producer:Vincent Riviera

Production Assistant:Celestine Gonzales

Cinematographer: Christian Datum

Editor:David Tessier

Music & Sound:Comptoir du Son Paris

Production Design:Jon Blud

Production Service (ESP):Vagabond Films