P&G's Gillette brand has rolled out a new campaign featuring Roger Federer. The Swiss tennis champ is touting the Fusion razor's benefits for sensitive skin, an untimely coincidence given his toppling yesterday at the French Open. The campaign was inspired by Gillette's recent (and, it says, first for a brand) accreditation by the British Skin Foundation.

In the UK version of the spot, Fed is shown on a grass tennis court, while elsewhere he's playing on a hard tennis court. Federer previously co-starred in Gillette’s campaigns with disgraced golfer Tiger Woods and footballer Thierry Henry.

James Nunn, P&G grooming brand communications manager, tells Britain's Marketing Week: “Gillette never stepped away from celebrity brand ambassadors, but we will dial their use up or down depending on the relevance of the campaign.”

Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido is looking to reinvent its image from one of a high-end luxury brand to one of affordable quality.

Noting that the emerging middle class in China heralds a new beginning for developing countries throughout Asia, namely the beginning of a massive middle class, Shiseido is looking for ways to tap into this market while retaining it’s reputation for quality and prestige.

Dubbed “masstige,”  an amalgamation of “mass prestige” the company intends to broaden its product line, and snap up foreign companies that fit in with its new line of marketing, such as US brand Bare Escentuals, which Shiseido purchased for US$1.7 billion.Continue reading...

Estée Lauder has launched a mobile application called Ascent, available for download via an Apple iPod Touch at department and specialty store counters worldwide.

The app takes consumers through a series of questions, with the answers helping whittle fragrance recommendations down to a handful of scents that fit each customer’s criteria and mood.

It currently features fragrances in Lauder’s Aramis and Designer Fragrances division as options including Donna Karan Iris, DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom and Michael Kors’ namesake fragrance.

The program will bow in Nordstrom during its Half Yearly Sale weekend later this month. It is also being promoted on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and expands on Lauder's social media push foray into Facebook marketing last year.Continue reading...

The rivalry between Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig took an ugly turn this week, with Weight Watchers filing a lawsuit against Jenny Craig over “deceptive claims.”

The lawsuit came about after Jenny Craig aired a commercial alledging that its weight loss program enabled customers to lose more than two times as much weight as Weight Watchers’ participants.

The commercial's claim, however, was not supported by scientific proof, despite the pseudo laboratory and scientific atmosphere in the commercial. Yet one has to wonder if Jenny Craig's assertion is really the only feat of deceipt incurred or dispensed by either of these brands.Continue reading...

Society's obsession with beauty and youth has spawned the creation of various pills, and brands, that promise to turn back the clock.

Created by L'Oreal and Nestle, Inneov Fermete is a daily antidote that claims to wipe away wrinkles. It combines nutritional and dermatological science with the help of lycopene, a compound found in tomatoes. The food and cosmetic companies collaborated to develop the anti-wrinkle product found to drastically increase skin elasticity after six months of use. The pill works to preserve old skin cells while promoting the growth of new cells.

Patricia Manissier, of Inneov, said: "We have done a lot of research which shows this product works and now we're looking for ways of improving it. We know that good nutrition can prevent the skin from ageing and that there are clear links between certain nutrients and skin health."

Saks Fifth Avenue just gave "about 116" -- an interesting estimate -- employees in its Fifth Avenue beauty department the boot.

The New York Post reported that the department store cleansing was not a result of the recession. Rather, some speculate it may be part of a larger plan to avoid legal conflict since the retail union filed a petition to organize the department a mere two weeks ago.

“The timing is very suspicious,” said Gemma de Leon, executive vice president of Local 1102 of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. “If they’re doing this to avoid having their employees unionize, it’s against the law.”

Saks is assuring that the layoffs were unrelated to the union's petition, claiming it's simply part of an industry-wide shift in staffing policy.Continue reading...

JC Penney is on a roll with its collaborations recently, and the brand's latest venture merely adds to the accumulating snowball: The department store has teamed up with Sephora to create standalone kiosks.

This development comes only three years after JC Penney introduced in-store Sephora counters, a plan helmed by then-CEO Mike Ullman.

"Our customer spends approximately the same amount each year as the typical Sephora customer,” said Ullman. “She has the desire and the wherewithal to shop Sephora as it exists today.”

Mr. Ullman also used to head LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, which owns Sephora.Continue reading...

For its 30th birthday, Wet n Wild is giving itself a makeover involving a sleek new look and three new product lines.

In January, 2010, the brand will introduce 70 eye, face, lip, and nail products with updated packaging, advanced formulas, and a new tagline: "Glamorous everyday. Fabulous everyway."

Wet n Wild hopes to appeal to a broader range of women while still keeping their signature low prices, which sounds eerily similar to the path carved by some Chinese beauty companies.Continue reading...