Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

Thanks to Seth Godin and Gillette. I needed a good belly laugh. Yes, you can stop holding your breath, the wait is over - Gillette has upped the ante in the razor race with their new 5-blade Fusion! But, no, no - really it has nothing to do with the competition.

“The Schick launch has nothing to do with this, it’s like comparing a Ferrari to a Volkswagen as far as we’re concerned,” said Chairman, President and Chief Executive James Kilts.

Hate to tell Mr. Kilts this, but people only have so much hair (less all the time for us aging Baby Boomers.) And, consumers often buy things such as razors and toothbrushes based on color (I know I do.) I’d suggest they think more about overall design and eye appeal versus turbo-charged sharp edges…particularly since women likely buy most of the razors sold (or tell their significant others, “Get the blue ones; they match the bathroom.”)

I dunno - I know it’s gotta be a tough job trying to come up with a new - ahem - marketing edge at Gillette, but I just start giggling when imagining the deadly serious “brainstorming” meetings that went into this. If they ever make a movie of this soul-stirring, world-changing event, I’d suggest casting Jon Stewart in the role as the Gillette product manager.