• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, November 14, 2022

Pete Davidson is happy enough to get a new Manscaped grooming box from his mom for Christmas. Then he notices that one of the trimmers -- the Lawn Mower 4.0 -- is missing. And when he realizes that the thank-you note Santa left behind is a little too appreciative, he’s appropriately horrified.

The new ad for the men’s grooming brand features the comedian’s real-life mom, Amy Davidson. Manscaped credits her with the advertising partnership. “Not many people know, but in real life, it was Pete’s mom, Amy, that introduced him to the brand, giving him a Lawn Mower as a holiday gift,” says Marcelo Kertész, the company’s chief marketing officer, in its release.

The San Diego-based company created the 30-second spot in-house.

Meanwhile, the idea that the manscaping trend has reached as far as the North Pole isn’t preposterous. In a recent report, NPD Group says that trimmer sales are up 74% over the last two years.

Most of that growth came fairly early in the pandemic, “when men emerged from pandemic lockdowns with months of body and facial hair growth to remove,” the report says. That resulted in a 62% jump in the 12 months ending September 2021. Sales slowed considerably in the next 12 months but still notched a 7% gain.

The enthusiasm for specialized trimmers keeps spreading, with sales of ear, nose and groin hair trimmers up double digits in both 12-month periods.

The Port Washington, New York-based market research company says that while Gen Z gets the credit for popularizing the trend, the body groomers and men’s trimmers appeal to all age groups and genders. However, men are slightly more likely to buy them.

“Fueling the manscaping trend are innovative manufacturers who recognize the need for specialty trimmers designed for different body and face areas,” says Joe Derochowski, NPD home industry advisor, in its report. “The need was always there, and these manufacturers addressed it and brought it to the forefront, and consumers are responding.”