CASE 200 / Gillette Venus / P&G / 2015
#UseYourAnd
A small grammatical invitation let people describe more than one part of themselves.
AI-assisted research and analysis for the SNS Creative Fieldbook; published by SNS Media Tech. No named human reviewer is claimed.
Sources reviewed 2026-11-05
Campaign credits belong to the original creators. They did not write or endorse this analysis.
Credits: BBDO New York; production Paydirt. Gillette Venus partnered with Claudia Chan, founder of the S.H.E. Summit.
Recognition: No formal award claim made in this record.
Launch / edition: 2015. Award years: No award claim.
The problem. The idea. The experience.
Gillette Venus launched Use Your And in January 2015 to challenge one-dimensional descriptions of women. The brand’s release framed the issue as a mismatch between narrow beauty-marketing roles and the multiple interests, qualities and responsibilities people actually have.
How the idea came to life
The launch film and social invitation encouraged women to connect descriptions with and rather than accept a single defining label. The release described personal stories; contemporary coverage identified the partnership with Claudia Chan. The device was linguistic, requiring no specialized technology to understand.
How it reached people
The dated brand release announces an 8 January 2015 launch. A campaign archive credits BBDO New York and production company Paydirt. International adaptations and later ambassador activity are treated as extensions, not separate evidence that the same idea worked repeatedly.
Supporting sources: Primary brand release reproduced by a publication → Campaign archive → Contemporary reporting →
Read the data in context.
The numbers below describe different kinds of outcomes. Their date, scope and reporting source are part of the result.
The sources verify the invitation and creative attribution but provide no controlled campaign-effectiveness result. Brand-commissioned survey figures in the launch publicity are not used as proof that the campaign changed confidence, expanded opportunity or produced incremental razor sales.
The creative mechanism.
An open-ended language template creates a low-effort form of personal participation
Make the contribution format obvious
A short connective word gives people a structure without writing their story for them. Test whether someone can understand the invitation in seconds and complete it in their own language. A useful prompt is easy to enter but leaves room for originality. It should not require a witty response, a polished photograph or a public declaration to count.
Avoid replacing one label with a new demand
Celebrating multiple identities can accidentally imply that everyone must be accomplished in many areas. Make room for rest, uncertainty and ordinary preferences. Do not turn participation into a competition over impressive combinations. The strongest version gives people freedom from a narrow description rather than another standard of productivity or attractiveness they must satisfy.
Give contributors control over visibility
Self-description can reveal more than a campaign team expects. Allow people to decide whether their words stay private, appear anonymously or become public. Obtain specific permission before reusing a response in paid advertising. A hashtag is not a blanket image license, and an enthusiastic submission does not remove the need to explain retention and withdrawal options.
Check the brand’s own language for consistency
A campaign against reductive labels should not sit beside copy that defines women only by appearance or role. Audit product descriptions, casting and customer-service language for contradictions. Measure whether the audience understands the stance and whether the offer remains clear. Participation volume alone cannot show that the organization has changed how it represents customers.
The intended behavior loop
- 01Recognize a limiting description
- 02Add another self-chosen dimension
- 03Choose whether and how to share
- 04Encounter a more expansive brand message
Growth job: Challenge a limiting label → invite self-description → build a broader brand association. This is an interpretation of the mechanism, not an audited attribution model.
A direction to take into the room.
Original editorial interpretation and proposed adaptation. This is a proposed adaptation, not historical campaign execution or a forecast.
The transferable principle
Use a simple language structure that helps people express themselves without requiring disclosure or achievement.
Keep these boundaries
Do not copy participants’ posts without permission or make empowerment depend on hair removal or being exceptional at everything.
Turn the lesson into a test.
Illustrative adaptation, not a historical campaign fact
A small-team experiment
A community bookstore offers optional anonymous cards inviting adult readers to describe two interests they would like the shop to connect.
Build the test
- Use a neutral prompt and allow one interest or no response.
- Keep cards offline unless separate publication permission is given.
- Use the themes to suggest a small cross-genre display without identifying contributors.
Measure the right thing
Measure voluntary participation, usefulness of recommendations and whether the prompt feels freeing rather than demanding.
Know when to stop
Stop if responses expose sensitive details, become competitive or are reused beyond the consent given.
How this reading fits your brief
Start with the useful part.
Best for: Challenge a limiting label → invite self-description → build a broader brand association
What to adapt: Use a simple language structure that helps people express themselves without requiring disclosure or achievement.
Prerequisites: Original creative development; Rights and accessibility review; A defined measurement comparison.
Smaller-team route: A community bookstore offers optional anonymous cards inviting adult readers to describe two interests they would like the shop to connect. Constraint: Do not copy participants’ posts without permission or make empowerment depend on hair removal or being exceptional at everything.
Budget: Not established by the cited sources. No cost-fit claim is made.
Trade-offs and evidence: Read the limits below before choosing a test. There is no guaranteed reach, sales lift or ROAS.
Questions for your next brief
- Which customer behavior would make open-ended identity useful?
- What evidence would separate attention from voluntary self-expression?
Sources & further reading.
Brand and award-entry results are attributed claims, not independent causal audits. Source links open the original third-party pages.
- Gillette Venus: January 2015 launch release, reproduced by Anne of Carversville →Primary brand release reproduced by a publication · Supports: Dated 8 January brand release, launch intent, film and participation structure.
- Stratégies: Use Your And campaign archive →Campaign archive · Supports: BBDO New York, Paydirt and January 2015 attribution.
- SELF: The Power of And →Contemporary reporting · Supports: 15 January 2015 contemporary coverage and Claudia Chan partnership.
Independent educational analysis of external campaigns. These are not SNS client projects, endorsements or claims of involvement. Campaign facts and reported outcomes are attributed to their sources. Explanations, adaptations and test plans are original analysis and hypotheses, not proven causal findings.