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uacboo · 6 years

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Something tells me she got there….

LOS ANGELES — Della Reese, the actress and gospel-influenced singer who in middle age found her greatest fame as Tess, the wise angel in the long-running television drama “Touched by an Angel,” has died at age 86.

Reese’s co-star on the series, Roma Downey, said in a statement that the actress died peacefully Sunday evening in her home in the Los Angeles area. No further details were included.

Before “Touched by an Angel” debuted in 1994, Reese was mainly known as a singer, although she had costarred on “Chico and the Man,” ‘’Charlie and Company” and “The Royal Family” and hosted her own talk show, “Della.”

“Touched by an Angel” was a gamble for CBS from the start. The story of an apprentice angel (Roma Downey) and her supervisor (Reese) being sent to Earth to solve people’s problems appeared to have little chance in a TV world dominated by sitcoms and police dramas. The first season brought mediocre ratings, but slowly the show’s audience grew until it became one of television’s highest rated dramas. It lasted until 2003.

“Through her life and work she touched and inspired the lives of millions of people. She was a mother to me and I had the privilege of working with her side by side for so many years on ‘Touched By An Angel,’” Downey wrote in a statement. “I know heaven has a brand new angel this day.”

Reese had been ordained by the Universal Foundation for Better Living and performed the ceremony when co-star Downey married.

Reese’s singing career began in church, when she joined the junior gospel choir at the Olivet Baptist Church in her hometown of Detroit. Soon she was singing at other churches, at civic events and on the radio. When famed gospel singer Mahalia Jackson came to Detroit, she needed a singer to replace a member of her troupe and turned to Reese, who was only 13.

Jackson was so impressed by the teenager’s voice that she enlisted her for a summer tour, and Reese went on to tour with her for five summers. In later years she would remark that she would never forget what she learned from the legendary gospel singer, including “how to communicate with people through song.”

Her love of music drew her to singing at local clubs, where Deloreese Patricia Early adopted a new name. New York agent Lee Magid recognized her talent and in 1953 booked her to sing with Erskine Hawkins’ orchestra.

A recording contract followed, and she quickly turned out two hits, “And That Reminds Me” and “Don’t You Know?” Soon she was singing in the country’s best night spots and appearing on TV variety shows.

In 1979 she was taping a segment of “The Tonight Show” when, as she recalled later, “I hit a horrendous note— the flattest I’ve ever sung.”

Her left knee buckled and she fell to the floor, having suffered a brain aneurysm. She underwent surgeries that allowed her to resume a busy career as a TV actress, although she later was diagnosed with diabetes.

Over the years, she appeared on shows including “Night Court,” ‘’L.A. Law,” ‘’Designing Women,” Welcome Back, Kotter,” ‘’The A Team,” ‘’MacGyver” ‘’The Love Boat” and, more recently, “That’s So Raven.” She appeared in the 2005 movie “Beauty Shop” and had a prominent role in the 1989 film “Harlem Nights.”

In one memorable “Harlem Nights” scene, Reese and Eddie Murphy face off in a bare-knuckled brawl after Murphy’s character accuses Reese’s Vera of stealing.

“C’mon sucka, let’s get it on,” Vera snarls, then decks him.

Reese complained in her 1997 autobiography, “Angels Along the Way,” that until “Touched by an Angel” she had difficulty avoiding being typecast for TV.

“There were usually only three types I was ever considered for — the singer, the aunt or the mother (or) neighbor,” she said. “God knows how I wanted to break out of those three categories and show what else I could do as an actress.”

In 1997, Reese went public with a salary complaint, claiming CBS had reneged that season on an agreement to match her “Touched by An Angel” pay increases to those of Downey. CBS said at the time it was “puzzled” by her comments.

“I’m trying not to believe it’s because I’m black, ‘cause I was black when they hired me,” Reese said at the time. “They knew what age I was. … I don’t know what it is.”

After previous marriages ended, Reese was wed to Franklin Lett, who became her manager and producer. She remained Della Reese as a performer and took the name Della Reese Lett for church matters.

Reese never won a major award but she did accomplish something in her career that was the envy of many performers — longevity.

“I’ve had a hard climb, but I was meant to have longevity,” she once said. “People don’t have to stop and say, ‘Whatever happened to Della Reese?’ Here I am.”

Reese is survived by her husband and three children.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Anthony McCartney and the late AP Entertainment Writer Bob Thomas contributed to this report.

Source: The Washington Post and YouTube

#della reese #obituary #touched by an angel #harlem nights #roma downey #mahalia jackson #tv actress

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feedimo · 4 years

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Role Recall: John Travolta on his 'Saturday Night Fever' breakthrough, 'Grease' dream come true, 'Pulp Fiction' pride and more

From his earliest days on "Welcome Back, Kotter" to his killer Nic Cage impression in "Face/Off" to playing Bill Clinton in "Primary Colors," Travolta offers an intimate inside look at his greatest hits.

source https://feedimo.com/story/76853087

#feedimo #news

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eyeofhorus237 · 5 years

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Welcome Back, Kotter is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a sardonic high school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial class called the "Sweathogs". Recorded in front of a live studio audience, it originally aired on ABC from September 9, 1975, to May 17, 1979.[1]

Premise

The show stars stand-up comedian and actor Gabriel "Gabe" Kaplan as the title character, Gabe Kotter, a wisecracking teacher who returns to his alma mater, James Buchanan High School in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, to teach a remedial class of loafers, called "Sweathogs". The school's principal is referred to, but rarely seen on-screen. The rigid vice principal, Michael Woodman (John Sylvester White), dismisses the Sweathogs as witless hoodlums, and only expects Kotter to contain them until they drop out or are otherwise banished. As a former remedial student, and a founding member of the original class of Sweathogs, Kotter befriends the current Sweathogs and stimulates their potential. A pupil-teacher rapport is formed, and the students often visit Kotter's Bensonhurst apartment, sometimes via the fire-escape window, much to the chagrin of his wife, Julie (Marcia Strassman).

The Sweathogs celebrate a winning lottery ticket as Mr. Kotter looks on.

The fictional James Buchanan High is based on the Brooklyn high school that Kaplan attended in real life, New Utrecht High School,[2]which is also shown in the opening credits. Many of the show's characters were also based on people Kaplan knew during his teen years as a remedial student, several of whom were described in one of Kaplan's stand-up comic routines entitled "Holes and Mellow Rolls". "Vinnie Barbarino" was inspired by Eddie Lecarri and Ray Barbarino; "Freddie 'Boom Boom' Washington" was inspired by Freddie "Furdy" Peyton; "Juan Epstein" was partially inspired by Epstein "The Animal"; however, "Arnold Horshack" was unchanged.

Characters

Gabe Kotter

Played by Gabe Kaplan

Gabe Kotter is a flippant but well-meaning teacher who returns to his alma mater, James Buchanan High, to teach a group of remedial students known as the Sweathogs. Being a founding member of the original Sweathogs, Kotter has a special understanding of the potential of these supposedly "unteachable" students. On his first day on the job, he launches into a Groucho Marx impersonation. Kotter is married to Julie, with whom he eventually has twin girls, Robin and Rachel. It is confirmed by Julie in the episode "Follow the Leader (part 1)" that Gabe is Jewish. During season four, Kaplan had contract issues with the executive producer, and only appeared in a handful of episodes. In season four, the invisible principal John Lazarus retires, and Kotter becomes the vice-principal. Though he is said to maintain some social studies teaching duties, most of that season's shows are filmed outside his classroom (#11), or if in room 11, Mr. Woodman is teaching. To minimize Kotter's absence, scenes were shot in either the school's hallway, the schoolyard, or the principal's waiting area. Season four ended the series.

Julie Kotter[d by Marcia Strassman

Julie Kotter is Gabe's wife and closest friend. Though she has a sense of humor, she often wishes Gabe would take matters more seriously. She is occasionally upset with the amount of time her husband spends with his students, and she is troubled that he allows them to visit their apartment regularly; in the two-part story arc "Follow the Leader", the Sweathogs' constant intrusions lead Julie to separate briefly from Gabe and even seriously consider divorce. Originally from Nebraska, with a college degree in anthropology, Julie eventually becomes a secretary at Buchanan, and later a substitute teacher after Gabe's promotion to vice-principal. She makes several references to her "world famous tuna casserole", a common meal at the Kotter dinner table, which Gabe and the Sweathogs dislike.

Michael Woodman

Played by John Sylvester White

Michael Woodman is the curmudgeonly vice-principal (and later principal) of Buchanan High. He makes no secret of his dislike for the Sweathogs, whom he considers the bottom of the social register at his school. He refers to non-Sweathogs as "real" students. When Kotter was a student at Buchanan, Woodman taught social studies, the same class Kotter returns to Buchanan to teach. His old age, and sometimes his diminutive height, are common jokes with the Sweathogs. Woodman is totally against Kotter's unorthodox teaching methods, and at one point even puts Kotter in front of the school's review board in an unsuccessful attempt to have him fired. As the series progresses, Woodman begins to tolerate them marginally. In the season one episode "No More Mr. Nice Guy", Woodman is shown to be a gifted teacher, willing to wear historic costumes, and role-play in front of the class during his lessons.

Vincent "Vinnie" Barbarino

Played by John Travolta

Vinnie Barbarino is a cocky Italian-American, the "unofficial official" leader and resident heartthrob of the Sweathogs. He has a need to be the center of attention, as seen when he admits to making it rain in the school gymnasium. In the two-episode "Follow the Leader", Barbarino quits the Sweathogs and drops out of school in anger when Freddy Washington is chosen as the "leader" of the group, though he returns as leader at the finish of the story. Barbarino's prowess with women is sometimes a source of envy (and more often amusement) among his classmates. On occasion, he breaks out in song about his last name sung to the tune of "Barbara Ann". He was the first of the Sweathogs to move out on his own when he got a job as a hospital orderly. In the first episode of the series and fourth season, he has a girlfriend, Sally. Vinnie is Catholic (often describing his mother as a saint), and, as shown in "I'm Having Their Baby", is a Star Trek fan. Little is known about Vinnie's home life other than that his parents argue a lot ("Follow the Leader (part 2)") and take turns beating him when in a mutual rage. His mother's name is Margie ("The Great Debate"), and he shares a bed with his brother. The episode "Don't Come Up And See Me Sometime" implies that Vinnie is the older of the two. Travolta himself was a high school drop-out.[3]

The character is seen less frequently in season 4, appearing in only 8 of the first 15 episodes of the season, before leaving the series entirely.

Arnold Dingfelder Horshack

Played by Ron Palillo

The class clown of the Sweathogs, Arnold Horshack, is completely comfortable with his oddball, if naïve, personality. Horshack was known for his unique observations and his wheezing laugh, similar to that of a hyena. (Palillo revealed on a 1995 episode of The Jenny Jones Show that it originated from the way his father breathed during the last two weeks of his life as he lay dying from lung cancer.) It is possible that academically he is the smartest Sweathog. He is the only central Sweathog character to be promoted out of remedial academics class, but he soon returns after feeling out of place. He has an affection for acting and enjoys old movies, particularly 1930s musicals. He eventually marries Mary Johnson, a co-worker and fellow Sweathog. Although his surname sounds like a term for a bordello, he claims it is a "very old and respected name" meaning "the cattle are dying." His middle name (and his mother's maiden name) is "Dingfelder".

Freddie Percy "Boom Boom" Washington

Played by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs

The hip, black student known as the athletic Sweathog for his skills on the basketball court, Washington claimed his nickname came from his habit of "pretending to play the bass"and singing "Boom-boom-boom-boom!". His trademark phrase is, "Hi, there" (spoken with a deep voice and a broad smile). Though often the voice of reason among his classmates, Washington nonetheless is a willing participant in the Sweathogs' various antics and pranks. Freddie also finds success as a radio disc jockey along with another former Sweathog, Wally "The Wow" (played by George Carlin). At one point, Washington challenges Barbarino for leadership of the Sweathogs, and even replaces him for a time until the group grows tired of his dictatorial style.

Washington has an older sister, who got divorced twice while living in Vermont ("The Longest Weekend"), and a brother, Leroy. In "The Great Debate" it is revealed that he has another brother, Douglas, and that his father's name is Lincoln. Kotter uses his own past to bond with Freddie, because in addition to being a former Sweathog he was also a former star of Buchanan's basketball team.

Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein

Played by Robert Hegyes

A fiercely proud Puerto Rican Jew (when asked if his mother was Puerto Rican, Juan replies that his mother's maiden name was Bibbermann and that his grandfather saw Puerto Rico from the ship as he was making his way to America and decided to settle there instead of Miami, making him one of the earliest Puerto Rican Jews; Juan is thus Puerto Rican on his father's side and Jewish on both parents' sides), Epstein is one of the toughest students at Buchanan High, despite his short stature. He normally walks with a tough-man strut, wears a red handkerchief hanging out of his right back pocket, and was voted "Most Likely to Take a Life" by his peers. In the season one episode, "One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing", Epstein was said to be the sixth of ten children (when speaking on the phone to his mother (who had failed to notice that he had been missing for three days), she apparently failed to recognize his name and he had to further identify himself as "Number Six"), although he later mentions, in "I'm Having Their Baby", that his mother only gave birth eight times, implying two of them were twin births. Only four of his siblings are mentioned by name: his brothers Pedro, Irving, and Sanchez ("One of Our Sweathogs Is Missing"), establishing that some of his siblings had Jewish names and others Puerto Rican names, and a younger sister, Carmen ("A Love Story"). Epstein's toughness was downplayed later on, and he became more of a wiseguy. He was also known to have a "buddy" relationship with Principal Lazarus as he often refers to him by his first name, Jack. On a few occasions, when Kotter did his Groucho Marx impersonation, Epstein would jump in and impersonate Chico Marx or Harpo Marx. Epstein's diminutive height, large hair, and fake excuse notes (always signed, "Epstein's Mother"), are common jokes associated with him.

Recurring characters

Rosalie "Hotsie" Totsie

Played by Debralee Scott

Rosie Totsie is the femme fatale purported to have put the "sweat" in Sweathog, though her reputation is largely exaggerated by the Sweathogs' word of mouth. Her promiscuity is at least in part a reaction to the strict discipline enforced by her father, the Reverend Totsie. To restore her good name, and to prove a point, she fabricates a story about one of the Sweathogs getting her pregnant. The character was a favorite among male viewers but was phased out of the series at the end of the first season when Scott was picked to co-star in the syndicated Norman Lear comedy, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.[citation needed] She reprised the role in a 1978 episode, "The Return of Hotsie Totsie", in which it was revealed that she dropped out of school because she became pregnant and had to become a stripper to support her infant child.

Judy Borden

Played by Helaine Lembeck

A recurring non-Sweathog character in the earlier seasons, Borden is a Straight A student and editor of the Buchanan Bugle, the school newspaper. She was Barbarino's tutor, and even dated him at one point. Despite her academic superiority, she can easily hold her own in a Dozens contest against any Sweathog.

Beauregarde "Beau" De LaBarre

Played by Stephen Shortridge

Introduced as a regular character in the fourth and final season, Beau is a handsome, friendly, blond, silver-tongued southerner who transfers from New Orleans after being kicked out of several other schools. He ends up in Kotter's class. The producers sought a heart throb who was not a direct knock-off of the "Italian-Stallion" trend that was permeating Hollywood in the mid-1970s who would improve ratings in the South where the show's New York setting was seen as unrelatable. They wanted to retain female viewers, but avoid a Travolta clone. Beau's first reaction to the term "Sweathog" is, "That sounds gross." He seems to have a way with women, as shown in later episodes. One of his running jokes involves imparting whimsical sayings, such as one about how a real man never steps on a pregnant alligator.

Other recurring characters

Vernee Watson as Verna Jean Williams, Freddie's girlfriend.

Susan Lanier as Bambi, a female addition to the Sweathogs introduced mostly as eye candy.[citation needed]

Charles Fleischer as Carvelli, introduced as a student foil to the Sweathogs in Season 2.

Bob Harcum as Murray, Carvelli's loyal, and extremely dim, sidekick.

Dennis Bowen as Todd Ludlow, a nerdy academic high achiever.

Geoffrey Stump as Kyle "the Heartbreaker" Lucas

Irene Arranga as Mary Johnson, later became Arnold Horshack's wife.

Melonie Haller as Angie Grabowski, introduced in Season 3 as the only official female Sweathog but was gone by the end of the season.

#tv sitcom

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nancydhooper · 4 years

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Welcome Back to TM Incapability and Merely Informational USPTO Refusals

Welcome back to another edition of Merely Informational and Incapable Marks.

The above neighborhood Applebee’s is on my usual route to going anywhere from our home, so I’m predicting I’ve passed by well more than 10,000 times.

The temporary “Dining Room Open” signage is a recent addition from a few months ago, when Minnesota restaurants began to re-open their dining rooms.

Over the years, I’ve focused on the more permanent Welcome Back! above-door signage, wondering if Applebee’s ever has attempted to seek federal registration.

Seemed like a great blog topic, for some day, given my distaste for the USPTO’s insatiable appetite for fusing informational refusals with trademark incapability.

Since consumer perception controls trademark capability, favoring a review of the facts and circumstances (instead of incapability rules) makes more sense to me.

Nonetheless, I’ve assumed that the USPTO would reject Welcome Back! for registration, considering it merely informational and incapable as a trademark.

So, today’s the day, not because Applebee’s has sought trademark protection, but because of its Welcome Back commercial that ran much of this past summer.

The commercial focuses on the prominent Welcome Back! signage seared with John Sebastian’s Welcome Back tune, made famous by Welcome Back, Kotter.

Seeing how Applebee’s creatively linked its longstanding Welcome Back! signage and other brand messaging to a nostalgic and feel-good tune from the mid-70s, I thought, just maybe, Welcome Back! finally was added to its menu of marks.

After all, in another context, a creative fusion of branding elements led to Owens-Corning overcoming “well-settled” law against color trademarks, when O-C linked its pink-insulation advertising campaign to the beloved Pink Panther cartoon.

Although Applebee’s has not (yet) sought registration, Welcome Back apparently is on the intent-to-use trademark wish-list of a wholesale seafood distributor, for “take-out restaurant services,” and a few weeks ago registration was refused:

“Registration is refused because the applied-for mark is a slogan or term that does not function as a service mark to indicate the source of applicant’s services and to identify and distinguish them from others . . . . In this case, the applied-for mark is a commonplace term, message, or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment . . . . Terms and expressions that merely convey an informational message are not registrable. . . . An applicant may not overcome this refusal by amending the application to seek registration on the Supplemental Register or asserting a claim of acquired distinctiveness under Section 2(f). . . . Nor will submitting a substitute specimen overcome this refusal.”

As predicted, the USPTO found Welcome Back to be merely informational and incapable of performing a trademark function for take-out restaurant services.

While overcoming the incapability refusal may appear an insurmountable climb for the seafood distributor, what if Applebee’s filed and faced a similar refusal?

Would Applebee’s be able to establish favorable evidence of consumer perception of Welcome Back! as a signal of its brand? If so, would the USPTO respect it?

The post Welcome Back to TM Incapability and Merely Informational USPTO Refusals appeared first on DuetsBlog ®.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247012 https://www.duetsblog.com/2020/09/articles/advertising/welcome-back-to-tm-incapability-and-merely-informational-uspto-refusals/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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incorrectlooneytunesquotes · 2 years

Conversation

Dr. Clovenhoof: Beaky, you know I'm new here, and I wonder if I might pick your brain.

Beaky: Well, uh, you can try, but you're picking at an empty field.

#dr. clovenhoof #Beaky Buzzard #source: welcome back kotter

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officialnetworthbro · 4 years

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John Travolta Net Worth 2020 | Salary | Mansion | Cars | Biography

$ 170 Million John Travolta Net Worth: John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, film producer, dancer, and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1978). John Travolta grew up in Englewood, New Jersey, and began his career as a […]

The post John Travolta Net Worth 2020 | Salary | Mansion | Cars | Biography appeared first on Networth Bro.

source https://networthbro.com/john-travolta-net-worth/

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omniversalobservations · 6 years

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youtube

Fonzie Favorites (1976)

In 1976, Happy Days was the most popular show on television. The hot series about high school life in the 1950s was spawning spin-offs, subsequent music albums and dolls. That same year, a little bit further down the Nielsen charts at number 13, sat another wildly trendy show about a motley group of teenagers, Welcome Back, Kotter. That had its own lunch boxes, too. Though both sitcoms were on ABC, a crossover would be impossible. After all, the two scenarios took place two decades apart.

That temporal hurdle meant little to Frank Lyndon. A member of the clean cut Bronx doo-wop group the Belmonts, Lyndon crafted one of the strangest novelty songs in an era of strange novelty songs, "The Fonzerelli Slide." The 1976 disco ditty appeared on the Fonzie Favorites album from Juke Box International record (that's the cover above), which featured classic rock & roll tunes by Bobby Darin and the Everly Brothers alongside oddities like "Impressionist Track (Aaaaay, Cool, Nerd, Sit on It)."

In what amounts to a skit acted out over a generic boogie beat, the Fonz rides his motorcycle into the Annual Sweathogs School Dance. Horshack asks Fonzie if he arrived to become the new leader of the Sweathogs, which seems unlikely, as the Fonz should be pushing 40, chronologically. Lyndon performs all the voices. We'll put it nicely and say he misses the mark. It's truly one of the stranger things you'll ever hear.

But! To answer the ultimate 1970s TV trivia question, yes, Happy Days and Welcome Back, Kotter characters did exist in the same universe and interact. It only happened on the disco floor.

Source: MeTV

#music #Happy Days #Welcome Back Kotter

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princestreetco · 7 years

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Harry's, the Shaving Brand, Tells Its Whole Unlikely Story in This Fun Long-Form Ad

To tell the origin story of Harry's, the shaving subscription service, co-founders Jeff Raider and Andy Katz-Mayfield will show you their baby pictures and their boxer shorts.

It's their way of explaining how a couple of self-professed regular guys went through puberty, sprouted their first facial hair, felt ripped off by the cost of grooming products, launched a company and angered Big Razor in the process (as in, fielded threats to have their pants sued off).

New York-based Harry's, which has used only digital and social media marketing since its founding in 2013, kicks off its first national TV campaign next week. The move follows the debut this summer of a next-generation razor and its first retail deal with Target.

The documentary-style ad, from agency Partners & Spade and directors Supermarche, launches this week across YouTube, Hulu and various digital media. It stars Harry's workers, including the baritone-voiced employee No. 2 (Jon Goldmann, director of brand engagement) who serves as its narrator, and its clean-shaven co-CEOs.

The mini-movie, with a dash of animation and a charming Skype call from Katz-Mayfield's proud parents, runs about two and a half minutes, with shorter versions planned for network and cable TV. Here's the long-form:

The campaign traces Raider and Katz-Mayfield's journey from disgruntled shavers to startup mavens, complete with their purchase of a 100-year-old razor factory outside Frankfurt, Germany.

"Getting people to buy into the brand based on product and technology is clearly important, but the brand is more than that," Katz-Mayfield says. "It's a set of human beings. We want to showcase our community."

Harry's competes directly with Dollar Shave Club (which also has fresh ads rolling out for the new year) and the category's traditional giants, Schick and Gillette, with the latter filing and later abandoning the aforementioned lawsuit.

"Our biggest challenge is letting people know we exist," says Raider, who was one of the co-founders of Warby Parker. "We're at a point in our growth where we want to invest in that. The logical place for us to start is by talking about how we got to where we are today."

That involved buying a $100 million razor manufacturing plant in Eisfeld, Germany, where much of the ad was shot, and working with its CEO, Heinz Becker, seen in the campaign embracing his new colleagues. (The deal was considered a bit of a head-scratcher in the beginning, say Harry's execs, who were nicknamed "the American internet cowboys" by the German media.)

The campaign follows the trend of humanizing a brand by using C-suite mavens, not actors or pro athletes, as spokespeople. It's a tactic that worked incredibly well for online category leader Dollar Shave Club (now owned by Unilever) and its hugely popular viral videos starring founder Michael Dubin.

Harry's, headquartered in SoHo, has amassed some 2.7 million customers, growing twice as fast as the e-commerce shaving category overall, with estimated revenue of $200 million in 2016. It was dubbed "the Warby Parker of shaving" by Inc magazine, an obvious nod to Raider's role in that disruptive, hugely successful eyewear seller.

The Harry's campaign will air on national prime-time TV, mostly during male-targeted programming like football. It will also run in theaters and across social media with the tagline, "Meet the shaving company that's fixing shaving."

Procter & Gamble's Gillette, though no longer suing Harry's, isn't taking the competition sitting down. It recently debuted a digital campaign of its own that hits its bargain-priced rival head-on, using social media comments from consumers who tried Harry's but abandoned the service.

Gillette "Welcome Back" campaign, using the theme song from '70s sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, is doling out free razors as part of an accompanying promotion. Though it's not the focus of the ads, Gillette now has its own shaving subscription service, launched in mid-2015 as a response to its e-commerce rivals.

Men's grooming is huge business, with the overall category estimated at $3.3 billion in the U.S. alone, with online shaving clubs becoming the fastest-growing segment, according to Slice Intelligence. With so many brands duking it out in the space, Harry's execs said they believe in their "self-deprecating, hopefully relatable approach" to their first TV ads.

"There's all this noise in the industry, and brands are shouting really loudly," Raider says. "If people get a peek into Harry's, they'll see our attention to detail. And we'll use this as a platform for more compelling creative down the line."

See the 60- and 30-second cutdowns below:

CREDITS Creative Agency: Partners & Spade Directors: Supermarche (Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman) Production Company: Moxie Pictures Editor: PS 260/ Maury Loeb Music: Search Party ECD/Partner: Anthony Sperduti Creative Director: Jonathan Mackler Art Director: Rob Matthews Executive Producers: Erika Best & Andy Wilcox Account Director: Catherine Borod Media Agency: Noble People

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#PrinceStreet #ABN #Spot #Commercial #Ad #Advertising #Marketing #Video #Youtube #Media #Harry's #the

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