"Up to 5 Weeks of Comfortable Shaves" - Gillette

[alexanderkarelin16]

What do they mean by this though? Shaves everyday? How many passes? I think 35 shaves consisting of only 1 pass is doable. What do you guys think? It seems like the guy goes sideways on his jaw line, downwards on his face, and upwards on his neck. This gives the impression that he's doing multiple passes when in reality he only does one. And *** does this mean: *based on the number of days used per cartridge.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Like everything else, I think they mean YMMV. In other words, I suppose it's technically possible to go five weeks on one of those carts (i know I have gone several weeks on one M3 cart, shaving everyday). The problem is, that by the time you get to the end, you're basically tearing your face up each time you shave. Plus, maybe he just has a really thin, patchy beard, so it doesn't really dull the razor as much each time he shaves. Ultimately, this is probably just an advertising gimmick to combat the ludicrously high price of multi-blade cartridges. I think they're saying "If you can get 5 weeks out of one cartridge, then it's worth the money." Of course, maybe this means that all of us who have switched to DE/straight shaving are having an impact on the Gillette bottom line.

 

[nlpotts]

You forgot to ask what type of hair? Fine or coarse? And *based on the number of days used per cartridge... Well, if I only shave once every 3 days, by the time I shave 5 time, that's 15 days. Also, you might want to notice, he says "the only thing I didn't change, was my razor." He says nothing about the cartridge.

 

[cluelessdude]

They didn't last me more than 2 good shaves. Of course I pushed their expiry date way beyond that as I felt guilty just using something that costs $5 for 2 times.

 

[bobfarvour]

Now I know why products have disclaimers.
It means that it, like most consumable products, varies by use.

 

[rockviper]

The key words are "Up to 5 weeks," which means that just 2 shaves is within their limit of 0-5 weeks. However, if someone shaves for 5 weeks + 1 more shave with the same cart, then their advertising claim is off ... but then there's the YMMV thing.

 

[Rufust445]

"Up to five weeks?" Not unlike the automobile commercials that are constantly throwing the "EPA Highway Mileage" out there, though those are NOT the conditions most people drive in. Last time I looked, the average speed on Los Angeles freeways was 35 mph, about half the speed limit. How does that happen? Bumper-to-bumper traffic jams, with stop-and-go driving, just like city driving. For most motorists, city driving is 75% at least of what they do.

As always, YMMV.

 

[duokun]

Yeah... I don't know what type of beard he has, but I pushed my carts that long and the shaves were not comfortable.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

13 year old boy- 35 shaves
Average guy - 5 shaves, once a week
Me- 2 shaves, Monday & Tuesday

 

[alexanderkarelin16]

13 year old boy- 35 shaves
Average guy - 5 shaves, once a week
Me- 2 shaves, Monday & Tuesday

wow, really? how many passed do you do?

 

[OldSaw]

This has been discussed several times before and I can attest to the fact that I have gotten over a months worth of shaves from a cartridge, not the Gillette, but the Schick Hydro 3. I am no boy and have very thick whiskers. Of course, I was using good prep and lather.

 

[ia_james]

This has been discussed several times before and I can attest to the fact that I have gotten over a months worth of shaves from a cartridge, not the Gillette, but the Schick Hydro 3. I am no boy and have very thick whiskers. Of course, I was using good prep and lather.

I used to run my M3s for a monthish.

 

[michiganlover]

The key words are "Up to 5 weeks," which means that just 2 shaves is within their limit of 0-5 weeks. However, if someone shaves for 5 weeks + 1 more shave with the same cart, then their advertising claim is off ... but then there's the YMMV thing.

+1

This is basically a marketing scheme taken to extremes.

Notice, that they didn't say "lasts an average of five weeks".

If I do random testing on 100 people using a ProGlide cartridge, the "lasts up to 5 weeks" statement is 100% true as long as ONE PERSON out of the 100 is able to make the cartridge last that long.

Gillette is being deliberately ambiguous about the details of "lasting up to five weeks". How many shaves per week, how many passes, how thick is the beard, what product was used to provide glide, what was the age of the test subject? There are so many undefined variables, the claim is basically meaningless.

I also think they are relying (perhaps banking upon) the average customer being either really stupid, or simply not caring enough to really analyze their statement.

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

wow, really? how many passed do you do?

This was pre-B&B. Two pass shaves daily. Anything past two days and I was in bad shape. With proper prep I could squeeze three days out of a cart.

 

[lt114]

This is Gillette's attempt to mitigate the cost of their cartridges. They must have gotten enough negative feedback about the Fusion cart's high cost to cause them some concern.

If I shaved three times a week with one pass on each shave, I could squeeze 5 or 6 weeks from a Fusion. That's how I shaved before I switched to wet shaving.
The shaves were neither close nor comfortable though, and I would never voluntarily go back to that way of shaving.

 

[rockviper]

The vast majority of the boys at work (mid-20s to their 50s) shave once a week. So getting 5 weeks wouldn't be an issue for any of them.

 

[Vickers]

"Hi, I'm Babyface Nelson..."

 

[Fkread]

I switched from a Fusion to a DE (MuhleR89) because of the cost of the cartridges (and the recyclable DE blades). I could get 3 weeks maximum (2 passes, 6-7 days a week); however, I get 12 weeks from Nov. to Feb. when I only have to keep my beard straight. I do like the Fusion, but noticed that I got a better and closer shave when I switched from a can of gel to a good quality soap and brush.

I have noticed that the green strip seems to stay green longer than it did when I purchased my 1st Fusion blades 5-6 years ago. I wouldn't say that Fusion is all hype -- it does give a good shave -- I bought one for my son a couple years ago when he decided that the Braun he inherited from me didn't work any better for him. If nothing else, it's better than the bic disposable I tore my face up with 30 years ago.

 

[burntraven]

Well like most guys on this thread I would have to believe its mostly hype. But, of course I'm being biased because like most (or at least some). I'm not going to run out and get a new fusion proglide and run this test.
And Gillette on their own "how to shave" videos recommend one pass shave or two pass, and figuring most guys don't shave everyday. Easily can see get a few weeks at 2 or 3 shaves a week (which was my own shave pattern back in the day). Also the whole stretching out cartridge life and not knowing what a "good" shave is are also factors in this.

 

[JetsMets#1fan]

Well, it is a commercial, so what did people expect? "Up to 5 weeks of mediocre shaves!"