Philips Satinelle Ad

Philips is using a transvestite dancer to sell a new line of women’s razors, an unexpected advertising stunt, but without a doubt the reason it’s getting as much press as it has. “The ad for the Satinelle Ice Epilator features an LA-based transvestite dancer, Karis, using the epilator,” Brand Republic says. It’s actually quite clever on their part to use a man to back the campaign which is actually targeted at females. A trannie wants smooth legs, but her/his hair is much coarser than the average womans, and therefore needs a razor which will offer the smoothest shave possible. The ads by DDB and Tribal include a TV spot, billboards and print campaign which will air across Western Europe as well as online campaign for the rest of the world to enjoy. “We wanted to find the ultimate test for this device,” says Neil Dawson, DDB’s global director for Philips. “It occurred to us that a man, or more specifically a transvestite, would be the ultimate test, given the combination of low pain threshold and desire for beautiful legs.”