Pablo Establishes Wilkinson Sword as “The Blade Masters” in Comedic Debut Campaign

Monday 20th May, London: Wilkinson Sword, the heritage brand part of the Edgewell portfolio, has launched ‘The Blade Masters since 1772’, a major repositioning campaign to humorously showcase the brand’s 250-year expertise in blades.

Created by the independent creative agency, Pablo, the new campaign will launch across Wilkinson Sword’s 29 European markets and represents the brand’s most significant marketing investment in recent history.

In a bold departure from its traditional advertising, the disruptive campaign cements Wilkinson Sword’s role as the ultimate challenger brand thanks to three tongue-in-cheek hero films that introduce a new brand character for the very first time.

The films, directed by Craig Ainsley, are centred around ‘The Blade Master’, an enigmatic and suave character who pokes fun at razors with bad blades by comparing them to a bartender with no sense of accuracy, a doctor with no training and a waiter trained in a zoo. Who is the Blade Master? No one really knows. What we do know is that he knows blades.

The campaign launch is a landmark moment for the Heritage brand looking to appeal to a younger target audience who are used to razor blade advertising that relies on celebrities looking uncomfortable in bathrooms. The campaign messaging draws on Wilkinson Sword’s history at the forefront of blade design and innovation, inspiring men aged 18-34 to pursue a more masterful shave with a dose of humour thrown in for good measure.

The brand’s elegantly simple point of difference was first identified by strategic consultancy, Where Magic Happens, who delved back into Wilkinson Sword’s history to uncover an unparalleled understanding of performance borne out of a deep heritage in blade making.

Sophie Rock, Head of Brand for Wilkinson Sword at Edgewell, said: “The world of men’s shaving has stagnated, and we knew we needed to do something different to stand out from the crowd and engage with men on a different level – one that’s much more fun and engaging. We’re so excited to introduce our new campaign. We believe that it taps into our heritage in a modern, compelling, and disruptive way to drive real difference within the category.”

Dan Watts, Executive Creative Director at Pablo said: “It’s been a smooth joy to glide around the face of amusement with Wilkinson Sword. We look forward to making more sharp, surprising, and entertaining work with the team and, of course, The Blade Master.”

To ensure the campaign landed with impact in different countries, Pablo worked with Flawless, the globally recognized AI film company, to “vub” (visual dub) the English picture into French and German. Leveraging its cutting-edge TrueSync technology, Pablo produced perfectly lip-synced films, enabling The Blade Master to speak directly to international audiences with the impact of a native voice.

The Blade Masters Since 1772 launches in the UK on the 20th May. The campaign will be supported by VOD, online and OOH. Media planning and buying was handled by VCCP in the UK, and Wavemaker in Germany and France.

The Blade Masters Since 1772. 250 years of blade-making innovation has made Wilkinson Sword a trusted name in shaving. With a rich history that includes sword production and ties to royalty, the brand has evolved into a pioneering force in contemporary men’s grooming, creating quality, cutting-edge products, based on an understanding of what men are looking for and how they want to express themselves.

Credits:

Brand
Head of Marketing: Sophie Rock
Assistant Brand Manager: Diane de Becdelievre

Pablo London
Executive Creative Director: Dan Watts
Creative: Oli Beale
Head of Planning: Mark Sng
Planner: Oliver Edridge
CEO: Gareth Mercer
Group Account Director: Alex Worthington
Senior Account Director: Dom Kocur
Senior Account Manager: Madeleine Huxley
Project Manager: Katie Houghton
Head of Operations: Ben Mascari
Designer: Richard Hooker
Agency Producer: Karen Whitehouse & Soraya Phipps

Pablo is an independent, brand-led creative agency based in Old Street. The ego-free home of the ‘humble radicals’, Pablo is helmed by well-respected industry figureheads with a versatile array of specialisms and is uniquely structured to support continual changes in the increasingly pressured marketing landscape. Pablo has one humble ambition which is to create talked about ideas that drive brand and commercial growth. They work with a broad range of clients from Carlsberg to DFS and Deliveroo.

Visual Dubbing: Flawless
Jonas Dickson: Post Producer
Mike Malarkey: Performance Supervisor
Laura Cuartas: Performance Specialist
Edwin Santiago: Digital Artist
Tyler Ten Haken: Visual Dubbing Supervisor

Where Magic Happens
Nicky Brugnola
Jeremy Poole

Production Company: Arts and Sciences
Director: Craig Ainsley
Executive Producer: James Bland
Producer: Lauren Highman
Director Of Photography: Maciek Ryter
Service Company: The Film Place

Offline Editors: Stitch
Editor: Max Windows
Edit Assistants: Luke Anderson & Chris Hutchings
Offline Edit Producer: Angela Hart

Rascal
2D Leads: Holly McLean and Rich McKeand
2D: Joe Wreford and Gary Driver
VFX Producer: Tom Sitton
Colourist: James Bamford
Colour Assist: Elliot Ward
Executive Producer: Colin Oaten
Head of Production: James Beck

Audio Post Production: Sine Audio
Audio Engineer: Phil Bolland
Audio Producer: Julian Marshall