Abridged with the author’s permission from The Conversion Scientist
The launch video for DollarShave Club is one of this spring’s hits in social media (30,000 likes) and on Youtube (4.5 Million views). The Dollar Shave video went mega viral because it is “funny,” right?
It’s more than that. To truly understand its success you need to break it down and analyze what emotional strings it is playing.
Michael is fed up. Who isn’t?
The major emotional theme of the video is “Fed up-ness”. At the heart of this Fed up-ness lies of course Dollarshave’s value proposition to customers who are fed up with paying for overpriced razor blades. But there’s more.
The whole body language of CEO Michael Dubin says “I’m fed up”. He just can’t sit or stand still, he needs to move, he’s on a mission. He’s fed up with political correctness as he proclaims that the blades are F***ing great. He’s fed up with over-paid tennis players. I think he’s even fed up with being fed up.
This goes right into the core of the American peoples’ feelings. Not only are they fed up with the razor blade monopoly, they’re fed up with Washington, they’re fed up with no jobs.
Michael takes matters into his own hands
By doing so he becomes an agent for the aspirations of Gillette-enslaved Americans. When they buy blades from DollarShave, they’re not customers, they’re proactive change agents who can create change and fortune by their own actions. Together with Michael they enact their shared American dream.
Michael is one of us, not one of them
Look at Michael’s office. It’s a mess. You’ll find similar offices all over the country. Except of course at Madison Avenue. It’s as far from that as you can possibly get. In any case Michael seems to spend most of his time in the warehouse.
If you know a little bit about video production you can see it’s professionally made. Still it’s created to preserve an amateurish look and feel. That’s not by coincidence.
Michael is American
Ok, the flag at the end is obvious, but when you think of it the American theme runs right through the video.
There’s an homage to the ancestors (Grandpa with Polio). The evil villain is a foreigner (a Swiss tennis player). There’s a reference to the Vanderbilts.
It might not be as obvious to you as it is to me (I’m Swedish), but it’s there for sure.
Michael talks to … Michaels
Michael is a former marketing exec. Does he need to save dollars on his shaving in order to be able to keep the kids in school? I don’t think so.
So when crafting the video for the launch campaign Michael needed to decide what people he should appeal to. And I think the answer is: “People like me!” People who think the Swiss Army knife approach of Gillette is starting to look ridiculous. People who don’t need to save on their shaving. People who just have this feeling that something should change. Not for rational money-saving reasons, but for emotional reasons.
Others will come later who really need to save on their shaving, who want more proof of the quality of the blades. We’ll see other campaigns designed for them.
Michael creates an Experience
I listened to Jared Spool at Conversion Conference SF a couple of months ago. He said that every innovation goes through three phases: (1) Technology, (2) Features, and (3) Experience.
Gillette is clearly about Features, with their vibrating handle, flashlight, 10 blades and backscratcher.
Michael, on the other hand, spends exactly 5 seconds to talk about the features of the products in the 94 seconds video. DollarShave creates an Experience around how we see ourselves as individuals and how we want to live our lives.
We react much stronger to messages about our identity than our actions. If and when you decide to buy those blades you’re participating in a collective experience designed to enforce your self-image as a strong and active American.
John Ekman is the Chief Conversionista of Conversionista! He is regarded as a Swedish authority on Conversion Rate Optimization. Follow John on Twitter @conversionista.





