Chances are you’ve seen at least on Dollar Shave Club ad, they are all over the internet! Today, we’ll take a closer look at why their ads have been so successful.
At Relevantly, we have over 15 years of marketing experience and are happy to share what we’ve learned about marketing strategy with you.
Here, you will see examples of successful Dollar Shave Club ads, how these ads are specially designed to drive traffic and sales, and more. Let’s get started!
A Brief History Of The Dollar Shave Club
You can trace the beginning of Dollar Shave Club’s success to a marketing video that went viral in 2012. You can check it out below!
This viral video currently has over 25 million views on YouTube!
This video pushed boundaries just enough - it used language we wouldn’t normally see in ‘safe’ advertisements, it was humorous, relatable, and definitely caught viewers’ attention.
This video helped Dollar Shave Club define their brand as a relaxed, cost-effective alternative to pricey brand-name razors.
“Dollar Shave Club saw the opportunity to be the first widely known brand to cut razor prices drastically while still maintaining quality & creating a kick*** brand personality.”
Dollar Shave Club used their price difference and humour as their main strategy for years, until they too became a household name.
Although humour helped skyrocket them into the business, as they became more established, they began expanding their marketing strategy to include a few more serious ads.
Why Does Humour Work?
Let’s discuss why humour works so well. Humour can be a great way to sell, and there are a number of reasons why, but we’ll take a look at two of the reasons why we think it worked so well for the DSC.
First, when someone is on Facebook, they aren’t there to shop or buy products. Facebook is a social network, where it’s common for people to share pictures, videos, and posts.
If something makes you laugh, you’re more likely to share it
A funny video that you want to show your friends is going to get a lot more shares than a traditional advertisement.
Humour works because it gets organic shares - that means people will naturally share it, you don’t have to pay for the post to appear on people’s News Feeds!
Humour also works because it simply grabs attention. We’re so used to seeing ads that are overtly trying to sell us something that we often just skip over them without a second thought.
A funny ad stands out so much that it grabs our attention. It makes us laugh, and it makes us interested.
Dollar Shave Club’s funny ads are perfect for Facebook - where most people are looking for entertainment rather than products to buy.
Dollar Shave Club Ad Examples
1. avoid “pizza neck”
This ad above is a fairly typical example of a Dollar Shave Club ad. It uses humour to grab your attention with the large, black headline that reads “How to avoid pizza neck.”
Dollar Shave Club ads appeal to a younger audience who are more likely to want to save money on items such as razor blades, especially when a pack of 4 or 5 can cost $40.00 or more from the local drugstore.
Dollar Shave Club does this in a number of ways, including:
Using a familiar video format - Many viral videos include a large black title and then show the video immediately below, DSC copies this format to look less like an ad
Including emojis - DSC is known for speaking like “real” people. Including emojis is one way to show this
Relatable content - The video shows three young guys, who look like real people (not actors), talking about the razors, joking together, and overall feels “real”
So, what happens if you are interested in the ad beyond watching the video? If you click the “learn more” button on the ad, you’ll be taken to a page that allows you to build your own “trial set.”
Image source: Dollar Shave Club
The landing page makes it clear that you will be building a “trial” set
Now, creating a great ad is only part of any marketing strategy. The main goal is to get more sales.
Dollar Shave Club does an excellent job driving sales through their Facebook ads.
They do this by first creating an intriguing ad that users are likely to click on. Then, when they do click, users are brought to a perfectly optimized page to complete the sale.
Image source: Dollar Shave Club
Everything you need to know is right on the page
By using the words “trial,” Dollar Shave Club is eliminating any fears of a commitment.
Since the DSC is a monthly service, they allow you to test the products before committing (and even then, they make it very easy for you to back out whenever you want).
They explain their process in detail below, keeping with their typical humorous language style.
Image source: Dollar Shave Club
Their landing page is perfectly optimized to get a sale because it:
Lacks purchase pressure by offering a trial and using carefully crafted language
Thoroughly explains how the process works
Answers any questions or concerns readers will have in the “So what’s the catch” section and FAQ below
The Dollar Shave Club turns successful ads into successful sales by properly optimizing their website to their target audience.
Ad #2: His. Hers. (2016)
Source: Dollar Shave Club / Image from: Pinterest
We thought it was important to share an older Dollar Shave Club ad as well as some of the current ones.
This is one of the most classic DSC ads - if you were on Facebook in 2016, there is a good chance you saw this Dollar Shave Club ad at least once!
At first glance, the ad is quite witty but wouldn’t necessarily be described as funny. That is until you take a closer look at the “testimonial” on the box, that says:
“I like shaving with a dull razor.” - No one, ever.
Dollar Shave Club ads did a great job standing out. They never felt forced or overly “salesy.”
For many of their older ads, they also used language that helped users feel exclusive. “Join the club today” sounds a lot better than “buy this razor now.”
Ad #3: simplicity
Like every company, brands must evolve if they want to stay relevant. When it comes to Dollar Shave Club, they’ve done a great job staying close to their funny roots, while rolling out new products and expanding their audience.
The ad above may not be particularly funny, but it sticks to another core of value the company: a simple, uncomplicated product that’s affordable for nearly any budget.
Once again, when you click the “learn more” button, you’re taken to the ‘build your trial’ page.
This ad is simple and not offensive to anyone (arguably unlike some of their previous ads!) It may help attract new customers or is just the reminder existing customers need to pick up new products online.
Either way, this ad shows that Dollar Shave Club is growing and willing to try other marketing strategies while staying true to their unique branding.
Using Retargeting
Like most companies, The DSC uses “retargeting” to pull in more sales.
Once you click on a Facebook ad and end up on a company’s website, Facebook stores that information. Then, it allows companies to “retarget” users.
Retargeting means that the same user who clicked on one ad will end up seeing more ads!
So, if you ever feel like you saw a suspiciously related ad immediately after visiting a particular company’s website - you aren’t crazy!
Retargeting doesn’t always result in a sale, but it’s still beneficial because:
The user was interested enough to click the ad, so they may end up visiting the website anyway
The user will be targeted for later ads, which may result in a sale
The user may like or follow the page, providing more opportunities for interaction and sales in the future
Brand recognition will increase
Since Dollar Shave Club often uses humour to gain clicks, it means more people are likely to click an ad just because they find it funny - even people who may not want to buy a razor at that point.
However, once they click an ad, they can now be retargeted with more and more ads. This strategy is used across all DSC ads.
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Interested in these Dollar Shave Club ads, and wondering how you can create a similar strategy for your business? Rely on Relevantly.
At Relevantly, we have over 15 years of marketing experience and have helped small businesses across Ontario, Canada, and North America build their brand online.
If you’re ready to create an effective Facebook marketing strategy, contact us today!
