• by Aaron Baar , August 5, 2015

It’s August. Soon, professional football players will be reporting to their team training camps. Amateur fantasy coaches will begin planning their sports rosters, and men of all sorts will be planning their fall beard styles. 

As beards has morphed into a near competitive competition and source of pride among a growing cadre men, Just For Men is offering up its own brand of color commentary.

The brand, known for its gray-removing, beard coloring products, is bringing back sports legends (and former spokesmen) Keith Hernandez and Walt “Clyde” Frazier to tout the brand in television commercials and in a social media campaign. 

“Their initial pairing was one of the most recognizable spots targeting men, according to Nielsen,” Ralph Marburger, North American category director for Combe Incorporated’s Just For Men brand, tells Marketing Daily. “We were looking for spokespeople that could communicate that Just For Men gives guys the best beard ever, and who better than the people most closely associated with the brand?”

The duo, who have appeared in ads intermittently for the brand since 2002, bring back their signature rhyming style as they follow a man (whose beard is graying) throughout his day. “Hold the show. That gray beard is a no go,” they say while the man is eating breakfast. “Your beard’s lost its mojo. You look like a hobo,” they say while he’s on the elevator at work. Eventually, the man chooses to color his beard. (“Here’s the kicker. Your beard will look thicker,” Frazier says.) The spot ends with the man ending his day in bed with his wife as the commentators look on uncomfortably. 

In addition to the commercial (which will air on ESPN and FX, as well as on online ESPN properties and Bleacher Report), Hernandez and Frazier will spearhead a social media element where they offer their commentary on interesting beards they find throughout the world, using the hashtag #beardspotting.

“We have moved quite a bit from being very TV-centric,” Marburger says. “Digital and social media will be important for us.”

In September, the Beardspotting element will take on a larger role in the campaign, as the brand kicks off a search for the “Best Beard Ever.” During that month, men will be encouraged to upload their own #beardspotting photos for a chance to win a trip to New York and an opportunity to become a judge at the National Beard & Mustache Championships (which Just For Men sponsors). 

“For guys with beards, the beards are an expression of their personality and identity. And there’s a competitive element as well,” Marburger says. “We thought creating an event around that was fun in the view of targeting our consumer.”