Schick and Gillette both use portrait photography for their campaigns. Schick uses more of the upper body for the ad compared to Gillette where a headshot is used. Schick’s photograph taken by Troy Goodall uses broad light giving a nice light to the part of the face that is being focused on. Gillette’s photograph by Tim Tadder uses short lighting giving an overall even light to the face.
Schick’s campaign overall has a very urban feel, targeting a specific audience. They are embracing the male facial hair while comparing it to parts of nature. It was a very unique way to sell their product and most definitely takes the attention of anyone who walks by it. The little use of text lets the photography speak to the viewer in a way that asks for the viewers imagination to play a part.
Gillette’s campaign uses a more classic form of advertisement. They use a large shot of the product with type and a male face. Gillette was very specific with their target audience using football to engage the viewer. It catches the attention of manly men into sports. They use of bright colors is also a attention grabber. Gillette focused on a clean shaved look compared to Schick.
Both campaigns work effectively to their audience of choice. The use of portraits is showed in two completely different ways and allows us to see how they can be used.
Schick’s choice of a conceptual approach is a choice to go after a different audience compared with Gillette’s more literal approach. The Schick ad as you say requires the audience to interpret it. The Gillette ad shows us both the razor and the closely shaven face. it grabs our attention not by showing us something we haven’t seen but by filling up the frame, bright color and strong contrast.