• by Aaron Baar , September 30, 2014

Not all men gaze in the mirror to see perfectly chiseled cheekbones and chins staring back at them. That’s why Wahl Grooming is looking to inject a little reality into the world of men’s grooming tools. 

Known for its hair clippers and electric shavers, Wahl is launching the second iteration of its “Real Guys. Real Grooming” campaign. Like the previous effort, this year’s campaign features real men using the products on themselves. 

“Most men’s grooming [advertising] is using male models, and that isn’t really based in reality,” Mark Catterson, chief creative officer at HY Connect, the agency that developed the campaign, tells Marketing Daily. “When you see real guys or non-actors doing [grooming], men think they can do that.”

While last year’s effort put a spotlight on a group of minor league baseball players, this year’s campaign looks at two other male fantasy professions: cowboys and craft brewers. This year’s campaign separates along product lines, with the cowboys using hair clipper products and the brewers focusing on facial hair. Longer-form videos delve deeper into the subjects’ lives, showing off the extensive training and preparation required for bull riding and the brewers discussing how they name and develop new beers.

“We had always planned on, if the first campaign was successful, that we would expand it to other situations,” says Tom Watson, account director at HY Connect. Since launching the “Real Men. Real Grooming” campaign last year, the brand has seen sales increase 10%, according to the company.

In addition to the television spots (that will run on cable networks such as ESPN, NFL Network and Spike through October and November), the campaign also includes digital advertising, event marketing and social-media elements.