The ad opens with an engine's vroom and a long, panning shot of hairy legs. A succession of body parts appear: Armpits, stomachs, bikini lines and glabellas (that's the skin between the eyebrows) — all belonging to women, all unshaved.
The spot, for a women's subscription razor brand called Billie, flashes a proclamation across the screen: "Hair. Everyone has it. Even women. The world pretends it doesn't exist. But it does. We checked. So however, whenever, if ever you want to shave, we'll be there."
The company claims to be "the first women's razor brand to show hair."
The 55-second ad, published online, comes as part of its Project Body Hair campaign, an effort to increase the visibility of women's body hair in media. Lamenting the near absence of female body hair in traditional stock photo galleries, the company now offers a small image library from the campaign of diverse, unshaven and unmistakably hip models free of charge. (Submissions are accepted.)
"For the past 100 years, women's razor brands haven't acknowledged female body hair," the campaign's site says. "Commercials show women 'shaving' perfectly smooth, airbrushed legs. Strange, huh? But everyone has short stubble, long strands, or something in between."
As a brand, Billie aims to combat the so-called pink tax found in products targeted toward women, including razors. Women pay 13 percent more than men for personal care items such as deodorant, according to NYC.gov, and 8 percent more for clothing.
