Thread: The Benefits of Straights: Gillette Concedes

I'm surprised they didn't use a DE razor since Gillette actually made those. Some of them were pretty darn good. Better than anything they've made since, imho.

But perhaps they felt that might cut a little too close to home (no pun intended) and perhaps their own ad would end up stirring up interest in DE razors which are trendy, inexpensive and easy to use in comparison to straight razors which, while perhaps still somewhat trendy at the moment, require quite a bit more initial outlay, and at the most basic level oblige one to get lot of practice stropping and shaving before they give much back. Even bearing that in mind it appears they weren't even giving a straight razor more than an instant of exposure in the ad.

Setting aside that many will be bought as gifts, or by young men 'coming of age,' I don't imagine there is much to fear though. I believe most people who are going to get into DE or straight razor shaving (who are already shaving) are those who have been sticking with the older generations of cartridge razor which are still available. The Mach 3 for example seems quite popular; a lot of online shaving stores which otherwise stock only straights and DEs along with other kit sell them, or their blades. While most nice shave-sets with custom handles suit Mach 3 blades.

The newer razors don't shave any better and are simply bulkier, more expensive and cause more irritation. It's all been about window-dressing, endorsements, and marketing. I don't find it surprising, or a coincidence that 'retro,' shaving tools began to make something of a come-back around this very period. However I think anyone who has already made the jump from functional to superfluous isn't going to draw the line at going from superfluous to even-more-superfluous. Never underestimate the effects of marketing, or the confirmation bias.

It's funny to see sort of a reversal of the "smaller and slicker is better" trend, it's all about the number of 'apps' and possibilities now.

Take Apple, for instance. They had a small mp3 player (nano), then the Ipod (larger MP3 player) then the Iphone (about the same size, but both GSM and multimedia apparatus) , then the Ipad (larger Iphone/Ipod) and finally adding a keyboard to the Ipad, turning it into a small laptop. Next: The IPC, an Ipad the size of a desktop pc. Oh wait...

With billions of dollars in worldwide sales, I don't believe Gillette is ready to concede anything.
Just marketing the innovations on their later product to the broadest target audience possible.