Gillette teams up with DOTA 2 player in SEA for latest product launch

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Gillette has partnered with Southeast Asian professional DOTA 2 Player, Daryl Koh, better known as "Iceiceice", to launch its latest razor "MVP"; short for "Most Valuable Player". Tapping on the esports pool in the Southeast Asia market, Gillette said in a statement that its latest product is a special dedication to e-sports fans across the region.

The campaign, which will run until the end of January 2022, comes as part of its overall Gillette MVP Academy initiative, which enables young gamers across Singapore and Southeast Asia to gain gaming tips and guidance from pro-gamers, a Gillette spokesperson told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE. The product is targeted towards athletes and gamers who train hard to excel in their games; who have to constantly adapt to game balance changes and meta strategies.

The campaign features a short film which shows a young, aspiring gamer being taunted for his initial bad gameplay. He then chances upon Gillette's MVP razor and "levels up" with a clean look, which boosts his self-esteem. The player then eventually rises through the ranks and receives and invitation from Koh to play against him at the Gillette MVP academy. The video ends off with the caption "Be the best player you can be".

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWVrp8aF3Fk/

According to Gillette's spokesperson, Koh was chosen to be the face of its campaign as in addition to his renown skills in the e-sports world, his dedication to his sport and drive to be his best resonates with the brand's values. Gillette believes Koh will inspire a generation of young new gamers to be their best.

Toh said that it is very exciting to see Gillette’s acknowledgement of the gaming industry and its active involvement in flaming its passion, especially in Southeast Asia. “Gillette has always been a household name for men and as a longtime user, I am ecstatic to be part of the brand’s initiatives to engage with the younger audience in this region who also share my love for gaming," he added.

The MVP campaign will be marketed across all traditional and new age media touchpoints, including digital, social and OOH activations, as well as social media engagements with gaming, sports and lifestyle influencers. "The campaign will also present an opportunity to young gamers to interact directly with Koh via the MVP academy," Gillette's spokesperson added.

Gillette worked with Vaynermedia APAC for this campaign. Vaynermedia APAC's creative director, Lay JY, said its research found that a lot of aspiring gamers want to improve their gameplay but lack the resources to help them. "From there, we saw a natural fit for Gillette to play a more active role in enabling gamers to Level Up Their Game - giving birth to the campaign idea together with our partners at Gillette. So, for the first time ever, Gillette is giving aspiring gamers an opportunity to get mentored by IceIceIce - the top Dota 2 player in SEA," he added.

According to Gillette's spokesperson, the world of esports has always been a passion for the brand. It launched the Global Gillette Gaming Alliance in 2017, which features a team of global streamers selected by Gillette to represent the brand and create content for audiences worldwide. Each member of the alliance is tasked with creating custom content streams, while also highlighting their shaving routines, personal style and Gillette’s newest innovation, products and promotions when applicable. The alliance includes individual streams, as well as co-stream opportunities among members.

Now in its fourth year, the alliance now holds a roster of streamers from 11 different markets. This year will also see streamers share their content on multiple platforms, including Twitch, YouTube and TikTok.

Karthik Srivatsan, senior director, Gillette APAC and category head, grooming, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, said that it is dedicated to providing the tools and support men need to become MVPs in their lives every day. "Apart from introducing the new Gillette MVP, this campaign celebrates the Asian gaming community and the blazing spirit of the youth today," he added.

Separately, Gillette engaged 10 key opinion leaders (KOL) for its "Skin by Gillette" product range. As part of the Instagram campaign, the KOLs were tasked to create a series of Instagram stories and posts of using the product. Some of the KOLs spotted for the execution are the likes of comedian Rishi Budhrani, Aiman Haikal who works with Night Owl Cinematics, digital agency Hey Group founder Shafiq Hameed, GRVTY Media co-founder Jonathan Chua.

Asia is contributing some of the best social media work in today's marketing and as such, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE is pleased to present Hashtag Asia to you. As Asia’s first dedicated social media award show, Hashtag Asia seeks to honor and recognise the best social media work from Asia.

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