How Gillette’s 2024 relaunch turned a 1980s icon into a cultural phenomenon

Gillette sought to relaunch its iconic 'The Best a Man Can Get' campaign (first launched in 1989), aiming for resonance across both older and younger male demographics. However, Burson London's specific brief was sharply defined: our primary task was to create a compelling campaign to drive brand awareness and consideration specifically with Gen Z, who were largely unfamiliar with the original campaign's legacy. This was a distinct effort, running in parallel with the wider campaign, which focused on engaging older men already aware of the original campaign through traditional channels like TV.

Our challenge was to transform this legacy tagline into a contemporary, culturally relevant statement for Gen Z, reintroducing it with a fresh voice to drive market adoption among digitally native audiences.

2. Strategy: Music & Football – The Cultural Pillars for Gen Z Engagement

Our strategy was built on a deep understanding of Gen Z's media consumption and cultural touchpoints. We developed a data-driven, multi-channel PR approach designed to amplify Gillette's advertising and to create a significant cultural moment around the relaunch of its core brand message. Crucially, the campaign's tone struck a perfect balance for Gen Z: it was self-aware and irreverent, acknowledging the campaign's heritage without taking itself too seriously.

Key Strategic Pillars (Launch Tactics):

• Music – The Universal Language (Reimagining the Jingle with Gen Z in Mind):
  • Insight: Music is a primary driver of Gen Z connection and identity. The 'sleeper hit' nostalgic audio phenomenon offered a unique opportunity to reintroduce the jingle not as an advertisement, but as legitimate cultural content.
  • Approach: Collaborate with a contemporary artist to reimagine the iconic jingle into a modern track. This central creative launch tactic aimed to make 'The Best a Man Can Get' an enduring earworm for a new generation, leveraging nostalgia while offering fresh appeal. The goal was to position it as legitimate music, generating buzz and ensuring the new rendition felt current and relevant, not a forced brand message.
• Football – The Unifying Passion (Cultural Integration with Relevance):
  • Insight: Football is a dominant cultural force, offering mass engagement, especially among young men. Major summer football tournaments provide a national conversation platform that Gen Z actively participates in.
  • Approach: Subtly integrate the campaign into key football moments (including 2024’s summer football tournaments) and engage prominent voices. This connected with an active audience, ensuring the relaunch message permeated relevant cultural conversations, demonstrating agile cultural relevance by speaking to Gen Z where they already were.

3. Method Deployed: Orchestrated Creativity & Strategic Partnerships for Authentic Connection

The relaunch campaign maximised reach and impact with Gen Z through creative content, strategic partnerships, and organic amplification, prioritising authenticity and cultural integration over overt advertising.

• Tom Grennan Collaboration (Core Relaunch Asset & Messaging, Tonal Alignment): We partnered with singer-songwriter Tom Grennan to create a contemporary version of the track. Grennan's authentic appeal, relatable persona, and strong Gen Z following provided instant credibility and buzz. His involvement ensured the reimagined jingle was perceived as a legitimate musical release. This collaboration was the primary launch asset and vehicle for the revitalised brand messaging, ensuring it spoke directly to younger audiences.
• Street Performances (Grassroots Buzz Creation & Irreverent Engagement): We engaged UK buskers to create high-street singalongs. This low-cost, high-impact tactic generated organic public awareness and genuine interaction, irreverently reintroducing the jingle and contributing to buzz around the relaunch by meeting Gen Z in their everyday environments.
• Ian Wright Engagement (Bridging Generations with Playful Authenticity): We enlisted football legend Ian Wright for playful digital content, bridging generational gaps and driving social shares with his authentic, light-hearted tone.
• Summer Football Integration (Timely Cultural Adoption & Smart Relevance): We leveraged summer football tournaments by engaging football creators, influencers, and media around cultural moments. This demonstrated a smart, culturally astute approach that resonated with Gen Z's appreciation for organic, rather than overtly commercial, brand integration around such moments.
• Art of Football Partnership (Purpose-Led Market Adoption & Shared Values): We collaborated with fan-led fashion brand Art of Football to co-create a limited-edition jersey, donating 100% of profits to longstanding Gillette charity partner, Football Beyond Borders. This purpose-led initiative resonated with Gen Z’s values, driving market adoption through shared social responsibility.
• Spotify Release (Capitalising on Organic Interest & Mainstream Credibility): We launched the track on Spotify due to overwhelming fan demand. This capitalised on organic interest, drove significant streaming numbers (1.5m to date), and cemented the track's status as legitimate music, aiding its market adoption and mainstream credibility among a music-savvy generation.
• Live Experience (Organic Buzz & Brand Love – The Tone in Action): Tom Grennan organically incorporated the track into his summer concerts, culminating in a Gunnersbury Park performance. Fans, unprompted, brought Gillette-branded signs and wore merchandise, demanding the track. This was the ultimate validation of the relaunch's success – pure, organic fan advocacy, demonstrating genuine market adoption and profound impact. It showed that the self-aware, uplifting, and authentic tone had truly resonated, transforming an advertising jingle into a beloved cultural artifact.

4. Outcome: Tangible Impact on a New Generation

The campaign achieved remarkable results, demonstrating clear ROI and significant impact, showcasing measurable success for the relaunch initiative:

• Brand Impact (Tangible Success in Brand Awareness & Market Adoption for Gen Z):
  • Brand Consideration: +15% increase.
  • Brand Rating: +9% increase.
  • Value for Money: +12% increase.
• Social & Digital Engagement (Buzz Creation & Reach where Gen Z Lives):
  • Organic Social Mentions: 4.6K (7M reach).
  • Spotify Streams: 1.5m (500k+ in just 1 week).
  • Social Views: 6M (17M reach, 584K engagements).
• Earned Media & PR Value (Strategic Clarity & Storytelling that Cuts Through):
  • Total Earned Media Reach: 220M.
  • Editorial Coverage: 30 pieces (including key youth culture publications like VERSUS, SoccerBible, NME, 90Mins).

5. Exceeding Expectations for Gen Z

The campaign met and profoundly exceeded Gillette's campaign relaunch objectives, demonstrating a deep understanding of Burson London's brief:

• Re-engagement & Gen Z Engagement: We successfully re-engaged older generations while captivating new Gen Z audiences through music, football, and authentic collaborations. This dual success proved the enduring power of a classic while demonstrating a nuanced understanding of new audience values, driven by a self-aware, irreverent, and uplifting tone.
• Cultural Relevance: We transformed an advertising jingle into a genuine cultural phenomenon for a new generation, showcasing PR's power to create cultural relevance and drive brand love for the reintroduced message, instead of just advertising it.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Our strategic PR/social approach maximised reach and impact without the need for expensive traditional media buys or official sponsorships. Collaborations, street performances, and purpose-led partnerships drove buzz, turning an advertising concept into a national conversation and musical hit. This delivered exceptional ROI and brand uplift through earned media, cultural resonance, and authentic connection.

6. Conclusion

This campaign stands as a testament to strategic, culturally-attuned PR in executing a successful relaunch. By understanding modern audiences, particularly Gen Z, and leveraging key cultural pillars with a self

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