• by P.J. Bednarski  @pjbtweet, October 16, 2018

Gillette’s Venus line of razors and shaving products for women is launching a new campaign, called “My Skin, My Way,” aimed at diversifying images of beauty.

"Some of the brand’s campaigns in the past have showed only one version of beautiful skin, but the brand is hitting refresh by devoting itself to representation through a new lens,” it says in its announcement of the new ad route.  

The campaign “will represent more women and stories, shining a light especially on those who defy conventions. The campaign will roll out over the next several months with new advertising, social content, influencer storytelling, and brand partnerships.”

The move by Gillette, owned by Procter & Gamble, is in line with changing depictions of women throughout the media, beauty and fashion businesses. Perhaps most famously, Dove’s “Real Woman” campaign that began in 2004 showed how women’s self-image can be affected by what the media and society have deemed “beautiful.” P&G’s tampon brands, Tampax and Always, also have self-image campaigns.

The trend has continued at women’s magazines, where controversies over photo retouching have caused the industry to rethink the practice of making its models looking just-so.

“In a few months, Gillette Venus turns 18, and we have taken time to self-reflect, to look at who we are, where we’ve been, where we want to be, and what we stand for,” says Hillary Mone, North America Gillette Venus brand manager. She promises the "My Skin, My Way" campaign, will “show more types of women on screen and enlist more women behind the camera. No more retouching, no more restrictions, and no more rules.”

One of the models in the new Gillette campaign seems to have vitiligo, a skin condition in which patches of skin lose their pigment — certainly a departure from the women featured in Venus ads when the razor was introduced in 2000. 

Gillette’s Venus Instagram site proclaims, “No one way to have beautiful skin or to show it off. Venus stands with all women who right the rules. #MySkinMyWay”.

The pages seem to invite visitors to post untouched photos, and there are some photos of women of color, with no leggy beauty shots visible.

Recently Gillette introduced Venus Face Protection, a device that removes hair from the root, and Venus Bikini Precision, a battery-operated bikini trimmer. It also started a “Her Shot” program, with 10 up-and-coming female directors creating content showing how a woman’s point of view can create big changes.

Long before Venus, the first Gillette razor for women was introduced in 1917 when sleeveless garments became fashionable. Its ads promised to “solve an embarrassing personal problem” and “keep the underarm white and smooth.” And when women’s hemlines went up a short time later, so did sales of women’s razors.

Separately, Harry’s Shave Club, the mail-order shaving business, today announced its own new razor just for women, called Flamingo, which will be sold in packs of five along with lotion, gel and waxing kit. The company said it noticed women using Harry’s blades belonging to the man in their life, and so it started the offshoot.