Why Should the Average Man Join Us?

The network Buzzr plays constant TV game shows. Early in the morning they show B&W vintage games shows. One is "What's My Line".  This morning they play episode #254, dated April 17, 1955.  Information on the episode is here http://www.tv.com/shows/whats-my-line/ep...254-95211/  So the Buzzr program shows the ENTIRE episode with all the original commercials (the youtube does not). One of the ads was for Remington Electric Shavers.  

Notice the clock and how important it was to show the model was clean shaven in one minute. Now this commercial shows bits of the commercial I was looking for. Again, notice the speed and how important it was to get the job done FAST. After all you have to do it again 12 hours later (I assume he said this based on the time the commercial played). Also notice how he called out "wet shaving" as Old Fashioned (much like today wet shavers call canned shaving cream "goop")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMQDRGB04D0

Times change - 1972 Fran Tarkenton, QB

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu-BcqL4h_Y

How times have changed. Back in the 1950s the emphasis was on SPEED. You had to get out of the house. No time for wet shaving. But now, 1988. Doug Flutie is on Dancing With the Stars this year but back then, he was playing football.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yv3y1Ergwo

Notice the emphasis was on how "close" the shave was and smooth. The time battle had been won. Also notice they are using Football players in their commercial? That's not an accident.  

Time - close - and Football Stars use electric razors. No wonder electric razors became so popular.

It may not be a major motivation for most people, but the idea of not producing unnecessary landfill by way of disposable razors and empty aerosol cans is an ecological plus. And supporting the local economy and rewarding innovation might appeal to many.

grim, old electric razors have a great plus side, which you have demonstrated, namely speed and convenience.

But trying to convince anyone that electric razors are as close of a shave as a safety razor, or even carts, is a blatant fallacy. With an electric, I would need to shave every 12 hours. With a high quality safety razor, I shave 48 hours later. A safety razor shave will last me 3 times as long between needing to shave. But apart from that, the BBS skin smooth feel of a classic wet shave has never been achieved with even the highest quality electrics. Convenience may have been mastered here, but not closeness. The best new safety razors master both safety and closeness, with room still open to innovate on convenience. The areas lacking in carts and electrics are slowly being made up for in innovations in new safety razors in tighter tolerances (see Feather AS-D2 and Wolfman), better quality materials, and newer technology incorporated like the pivot (see OneBlade).

The safety razor market is growing and innovating presently, to make up for some of the things they have lacked for in the past. Carts and electrics? Not innovating to fill gaps in their weak points.

This speaks to Mystic Water's statement about innovation. There is also the matter of classic wet shaving being better for the environment, and much better price over the long term vs. carts.

grim, old electric razors have a great plus side, which you have demonstrated, namely speed and convenience.

But trying to convince anyone that electric razors are as close of a shave as a safety razor, or even carts, is a blatant fallacy.

I don't disagree with your statement here. I am only demonstrating how marketing has shifted over the time. The battles had been won.

In the 1950s and 60s, the DRY shaving marketed pushed for speed and convenience.

By the 1970s and 1980s, they knew they won that argument so they moved on to marketing for "close" shaves. It doesn't have to be "closest", it only has to be "good enough", and now we are back to the "good enough" argument.

One doesn't have to have the absolute closest shave. After all, it only takes a minute and you will see people shaving while driving (probably not the best idea).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irTHJdZpcZU

This is what you have to overcome ... and that is a  very difficult obstacle to overcome. Convenience, Time, and "good enough"

grim, these issues are starting to be overcome apparently, as wet shaving becomes more and more popular.

A lot of this comes down to marketing. Try this: While many people like the convenience of a fast food restaurant like McDonald's, most people prefer the quality and health benefits of a fine steak meal in comparison, even though you might have to wait for it.  Here's the sales pitch: "Enjoy a five star steak dinner at cheaper than McDonald's prices, all while being healthier for both you and the Earth. Welcome to the modern wet shaving world in comparison to carts and electrics."

McDonald's might not be going anywhere soon, but more and more high quality local steak houses are opening up on every corner that beat the McDonald's price.

This is not too hard to sell if it is done right, especially if it is done by celebrities like the Pawn Stars host, or in a James Bond film... or picture a beautiful model caressing a BBS smooth face going mad with desire for the man whose skin feels like an angel's feathers, while rejecting some slob with a cheap plastic cart in one hand and a face that feels like a cactus and red pimply in-grown bumps all over.

grim, these issues are starting to be overcome apparently, as wet shaving becomes more and more popular. ...

This is not too hard to sell if it is done righ ... picture a beautiful model caressing a BBS smooth face going mad with desire for the man whose skin feels like an angel's feathers, while rejecting some slob with a cheap plastic cart in one hand and a face that feels like a cactus and red pimply in-grown bumps all over.

ROFL.  Except for one HUGE thing.

Like it or not, we live in a society fed by Instant Gratification. That need for instant gratification is not just the young folks but spread across the ages. You go do some due diligence and read the research on it but its very simple. We all want everything NOW, whether it be that first house, that new car, or mundane things like an instantly green lawn or your Amazon delivery completed in ONE day never mind waiting for two day delivery with Amazon Prime.

Think about it:

.  A few clicks and the picture you take on  your smartphone is instantly online. No more waiting for film to be developed. No more processing raw digital photos. Just click and done, all on your phone. You don't even need to buy a camera anymore. Cameras, for many, have become obsolete.

.  You want to FaceTime with your spouse/better half/friend etc? no more waiting to see one, you see them immediately on your phone. This is science fiction stuff.

.  If I order something on Amazon by Noon or sometime like that, I get it delivered THAT DAY! How incredible is that?

.  If I want to watch a movie, I stream it IMMEDIATELY - no more going to the movies. No more driving to Blockbuster for a tape. No more waiting for the mail and a DVD from Netflix. Push one button and the movie starts.

. Want to listen to a radio station anywhere in the nation? No problem, Sat Radio does that or stream a station directly from iHeartRadio - for FREE.

ALL these things were inconceivable 10, 20, 30 years ago. You can NEVER go home.

Technology only goes forward and to ask someone to give up time just won't work. You can plead for it to happen. You can rationalize it anyway you want. You can feel upset. You can try to get the masses to join you. But, it's just not going to happen.

And I am fine with that. I got no problem clicking one button and buying a soap and some razor blades and taking my time in the morning. If the industry remains a niche industry, that's not an issue. There are plenty of new businesses popping up all the time. Some will fail. Some will succeed. That is the nature of all business. But to ask the masses, the world - where Time is Money - when they have been systematically exposed to and EXPECT instant gratification to do that is setting yourself up for major disappointment.  What exists, is GOOD ENOUGH. Sorry

grim , so what kind of electric razor do you use?

Again, I don't think anyone is looking for the whole world to switch to DE shaving...just for a reasonable way to maintain the hobby we all enjoy.

And grim your post is, in my opinion, one of the big reasons people DO turn to traditional wet shaving...to slow down. To stop and smell the roses. To take a moment out of a constantly hectic day and just pamper oneself with a mundane chore-turned spa treatment.

I don't disagree with you. The majority of the world is caught in the hype of hyper-activity. But it is this hyper-activity disorder that we are forced to comply with on a daily basis that makes many of us want to just hit the pause button and take some time away from it all. Traditional wet shaving, for many of us, provides exactly that... And I believe that we will find more and more people discovering the same thing.

And I honestly believe that this will be especially truwe amongst the millenial generation. They have grown up without ever having experienced life without cellhphones, computers and the internet. The desire for nostalgic re-connection to a past they never knew is going to be very strong in many of them, I think, and that will translate into a steady influx of new shavers, keeping our hobby, and it's artisans, alive...

grim , so what kind of electric razor do you use?

That 1955 remington from the ad above

Again, I don't think anyone is looking for the whole world to switch to DE shaving..

The OP asked:   "what will it take for this trend to become more than a niche? What, if anything, will bring back traditional wet shaving to the mainstream majority?" I'm responding to the OP's question, specifically, "What can be done to make traditional wet shaving" become mainstream?"  And the short answer is ... It ain't going to happen.

And I honestly believe that this will be especially truwe amongst the millenial generation. They have grown up without ever having experienced life without cellhphones, computers and the internet. The desire for nostalgic re-connection to a past they never knew is going to be very strong in many of them, I think, and that will translate into a steady influx of new shavers, keeping our hobby, and it's artisans, alive...

This is true. They know nothing different. I guess we will see.

The OP asked:   "what will it take for this trend to become more than a niche? What, if anything, will bring back traditional wet shaving to the mainstream majority?" I'm responding to the OP's question, specifically, "What can be done to make traditional wet shaving" become mainstream?"  And the short answer is ... It ain't going to happen.

Actually, grim, I qualified my question in the OP, which states:

"What, if anything, will bring back traditional wet shaving to the mainstream majority? Maybe it is not possible, or it will not happen. Perhaps, but if it could, how would it happen?"

This thread is really not about whether or not you think this is possible. I have entertained that debate as a sidetracked point of interest, but that is not the point or purpose of this thread. And I think the diversion as to whether or not it's possible has extended well past its necessary limits.

Assume, or pretend classic wet shaving can become mainstream, for truly, anything is possible, and it is trending this way. Assuming it is possible, what will it take for that to happen? Better tech, marketing, the price argument, improved convenience factors in future safety razors, the quality argument, the environment argument, the closeness argument, or something else.

This thread, grim, is meant to be a thought experiment in which we consider how it might be possible for our kind of wet shaving becomes mainstream again, not whether we think if it may or may not be possible at all.