Advertising by selling a lifestyle is nothing new, but rarely does a company market to its consumers by depicting the lifestyle they already have. Advertisement of women’s products in particular has long relied on the narrative that the product will not only do what it is meant to, but it will also improve your life and make you a better person. Frequently, the underlying message there is that you will also be more attractive to men. Shampoo ads feature gorgeous women slinging thick, silky hair across their shoulders while men lean in close to them. Athletic apparel companies employ models with flawless bodies in trendy spandex attire. These companies are selling their products, but they are also selling aspirational lifestyles.
We are so used to this tactic, when we see retailers that don’t try to sell us on being more than who we are, we take notice. And in the case of Billie and Outdoor Voices, a-typical ads made them rapidly successful. Both companies emerged onto the scene in the past few years and have garnered a dedicated audience at an impressive pace. One key to their success is their unique and honest brand messaging that makes their customer the main character in the story.
Outdoor Voices: Show, don’t tell
Built around the message of #DoingThings, Outdoor Voices is made for those interested in being athletic in their athletic clothes. What they recognized early on is that this category of people is diverse in size, shape, and color, and they made sure their marketing reflected this diversity. This inclusion and honesty is so organic to their brand that they don’t even address it in their messaging. In the above ad, the cellulite on the woman’s leg stands out simply because a more typical sports apparel company would have blurred it out (“Buy these shorts and you will be fit”), whereas Outdoor Voices both leaves it in AND abstains from a preachy caption about body positivity. Instead of patting themselves on the back, they represent their customer base through un-edited posts and re-grams of their real customers #DoingThings in their apparel.
Billie: The beauty product is for the woman. Period.
When did shaving companies forget that women have hair? Almost every razor advertisement depicts a smooth leg perched on the side of a bathtub as the woman pointlessly slides a razor up it. “Buy our razor and you will never have body hair again.”
But women do have body hair, and subscription razor service Billie has made the simple acknowledgement of this a key staple of their brand messaging. One of the first promises Billie makes to its customers on its website is that they, “won’t call you a goddess for shaving your legs. Promise.” They are marketing to the average woman, for whom using a razor is another part of the routine, not a transcendental experience. And they’ve also refuted the narrative of female beauty maintenance being for the sake of men by emphasizing that women use razors in varying ways, places, and amounts depending on personal taste. The beneficiary of the product is the woman and the woman alone.
The success and dedicated followings of these two brands demonstrate the value of honest messaging, without touting it. It also shows that when brands take a back seat and let their customers be the center of their ad campaigns, their audience is more likely to relate to the brand, and thus more likely to want to be affiliated with it. Sometimes, rather than being sold an aspirational lifestyle, customers would like to be told, “This fits into your life right now, as you really are.” A little honesty can go a long way, and is a great way to differentiate your brand in a sea of hairless legs and smooth thighs.
