• The New York Times, Thursday, February 21, 2008 11:45 AM

Procter & Gamble's Gillette unit is rolling out Venus Embrace, the first five-blade razor for women. It also sports a soft rubber handle and--instead of the moisturizing strip above blades on many razors--has upgraded to an oval-shaped "Ribbon of Moisture" that encircles the blades. In all, 35 patents are pending or granted covering product's technologies, designs and manufacturing.

An ad campaign plays on Venus's being the Roman goddess of love, but recasts women as deities in decidedly contemporary settings. In one advertisement, a leggy woman running with a jogging stroller is the "Goddess of Trailblazing;" in another, a woman sending a text message is the "Goddess of Communication."

"We've given women the permission to reveal her own goddess," says Gro Frivoll, who has worked on the Venus account at BBDO for eight years. The razor "allows" women to be their "most feminine self," she says.

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