A big hairy toe appears on NYC Subway as Billie expands ‘Project Body Hair’ into OOH
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) razor brand Billie has taken to New York City’s Subway for the launch of its first out-of-home campaign, a series of images depicting real female hair on previously undepicted body parts – including the toe.
Billie's Subway toe is "big"
‘The underrated toe shave’ – a close shot of a woman shaving her immaculately pedicured-yet-fuzzy digits – is just one of the images featured in the campaign now live in Williamsburg’s Bedford station.
Other creative features armpits in various states of regrowth, and a razor cutting through the lawn of a women’s leg.
The work was derived from Billie’s Project Body Hair launch video. The razor brand’s overarching ad campaign, which racked up 22m views across social media, was lauded internationally for being the first to depict real body hair.
The shot of a toe being shaved in the film triggered a particularly positive reaction, which led Billie to place a similar image front-and-center of its first foray into OOH, explained founder Georgina Gooley.
“The poster of the hairy, big toe is...big!” she told The Drum. “We’ve received overwhelming support for acknowledging ‘underrated shaves’ and this will be the first time a toe is displayed like this in OOH.
"We’re hopeful women in Williamsburg will be supportive of us doing things a little bit differently. It was incredible to watch the [Project Body Hair] film ‘go viral’ and it’s been even more rewarding to see it start an industry trend and change the way women are portrayed in advertising.”
The initial campaign led Billie’s sales to double in one week. The brand also carved out the project’s longevity with the creation of a free-to-access image library of women proudly exhibiting their body hair.
Now, with an expansion into OOH, Billie joins the ranks of subscription-based, DTC brands capitalizing on the Subway’s inventory to reach young, affluent audiences.
“We’re looking forward to seeing how [outdoor] performs as part of our larger 'test and learn' strategy,” said Gooley.