Schick Quattro Titanium

Schick Quattro Titanium | Who is the Schick Treadmill girl?

It looks like just another commercial hawking an uninteresting product. A couple of guys in white lab coats yabber at the camera, you see a plug for a man's razor, and then a girl appears on a treadmill. A young man walks up beside her, gets on a treadmill, feels his face, and she is so overwhelmed by the magical moment (which is marked by a flash of light off his pristine skin) that she loses her concentration and falls flat on the floor.

Although men around the television viewing world may be rejoicing in what could be the start of a reverse trend in television advertising, which for years has portrayed men as inept, incompetent, barely able to function without the women in their lives, the obvious sexual imagery of this commercial may ultimately lead to a reverse backlash.

Men's organizations have been complaining to adverstisors about the blatant man-bashing that has permeated television commercials. But is the Schick Quattro commercial a harbinger of the return to 1960s' style commercials where women fawn over men, are ashamed of their laundry habits, and cannot do anything right? It's a good question to ask because the actors in these commercials may never be seen again. The advertising industry is a harsh critic that brands actors with failed campaigns.

When I went looking for information on this commercial, I was unable to find out who the actors are. A discussion on one forum suggests that she may be the girl in the Levi's 501 Jeans 'Police Chase' commercial. In that spot, a young couple are watching a police chase on television. The half-clad girl lies on a small bed, reading some magazines, and the young man realizes the criminal whom the police are chasing is about to steal his 501 jeans. He rushes out to the backyard, grabs the jeans, and rips them off the criminal -- whom the police apprehend and lead away. The girl stares in shock at her boyfriend's daring action on the television screen.

The Levi's commercial was created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York, who have also produced at least one Axe commercial. This UK-based ad agency has a reputation for producing cutting edge, daring promotional campaigns. The actual production company was Gorgeous Entertainment Ltd., another UK company.

The official product site for Schick Quattro Titanium includes a different version of the laboratory commercial than what I have seen on television. But they provide no information regarding the actors in the commercial. The commercial is actually located on Schick Shave Lab.com (why are they branding a domain name for the lab?).

Schick/Wilkinson Sword seem to be thumbing their nose at the political correctness of the advertising industry and appealing directly to the naive male ego with their advertising campaigns. While some of the promotions are interesting, the real star of the campaign is the mysterious girl in the lab who is wowed by the close shave. She has gotten more comment than the Quattro itself.