Dollar Shave Club Returns to Irreverence in Cheeky New Ad Campaign

DTC success story Dollar Shave Club first made waves back in March of 2012, when a YouTube ad for the brand titled "DollarShaveClub.com - Our Blades Are F***ing Great" first hit the video streaming platform. More than a decade — and 28 million views — later, Dollar Shave Club would become a staple in the men's grooming segment, spawning a sea of competitors from Harry's to Manscaped.

Now, as Marketing Dive detailed, Dollar Shave Club is returning to its irreverent roots in its latest ad campaign, one sure to please the brand's core audience while attracting new eyes to the product lineup.

Dollar Shave Club Welcomes You To 'The Club' in Latest Ad

In DSC's latest YouTube ad, a young man stands at a desk opposite a concierge inside of a swank curtained lobby. A neon lobster and what appears to be a carved wooden owl are part of the set dressing.

After fumbling the password — the young man attempts "razor burn" — before successfully speaking up with "shave money" (a cute pun), our protagonist is led to the inner sanctum.

"Welcome to Dollar Shave Club," the concierge says, handing the young man a plush robe embroidered with the brand's logo.

Inside, a trio of men are attending to their various grooming needs.

"We've got something for every body, and every budget. We think that's pretty f***ing great," the older man tells his younger guest.

Turning to reveal the inside of his suit jacket, arrayed with traditional razor blades and handles, electric trimmers, as well as shaving creams and butters, the concierge leads our initiate to the sink — but not before departing with a cheeky tap to the lad's rear end.

"Welcome to the club!" the concierge says enthusiastically as he struts away.

Having been posted only a little over a week ago, the ad has nonetheless already racked up over 540,000 views. The ad is poised to be featured on CTV, YouTube, Spotify, several podcasts, and other channels.

Dollar Shave Club CEO Speaks to Modern Inclusivity, Humor

Installed as DSC CEO in November 2023 — shortly after news broke that Unilever was selling the company after about 7 years of holding it as an asset, per a Retail Dive report — Larry Bodner spoke to the changing nature of humor in today's era, and how it inclusivity has become central to the brand's approach to staying relevant, as well as irreverent.

"We [myself and DSC co-founder Michael Dubin] spent a lot of time on what humor means to our [consumer],” Bodner said. “How do we bring irreverence to light in this current culture? How do you bring back some breakthrough edginess while still being inclusive?”

Bodner pointed to the inclusion of several different male body types and grooming habits as visually representative of that sort of inclusion. Notably absent, the clean-shaven beach-body male model common to most men's grooming commercials of yore.

"The resulting balancing act is apparent in 'The Club': not too 'bro-y' but disruptive and fun in a way that plays into longstanding — if latent — brand equity. Keying into the brand’s strength while making it contemporary meant highlighting different body types and grooming styles," Marketing Dive underscored.

Dollar Shave Club Joined by Target, Wendy's in Appealing to an Playfully Edgy New Ad Approach

Dollar Shave Club isn't the only one leaning in on a new trend in advertising — that of making ads cheeky or edgy in a playful or fun way, without getting too graphic or overtly offensive.

In November of 2024, Target launched a series of short advertisements featuring a "hot" Santa Claus, or Kris for short. The ads featured the muscular stand-in for the traditional Santa plowing through the snow to a Steppenwolf soundtrack, or helping a harried shopper locate the best holiday deals in store.

And earlier, in September of that same year, Wendy's threw a little bit of shade at competitor McDonald's. At the time, Wendy's partnered up with website McBroken.com — a website which tracks which of the Golden Arches' ice cream machines are out of operation — to promote its own Frosty desserts as an always-available alternative.