Star Wars is a property known for its extensive line of officially licensed merchandise as much as films that shatter box office records. During the build-up to last year's The Force Awakens, the franchise's famous logo was slapped on everything from Hasbro action figures to cases of bottled water. Disney and Lucasfilm are working to make Star Wars an annual occurrence, and September 2016 saw the release of the first wave of products for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. While there were several items available, it was only the tip of the iceberg. The studio has much more planned.
With the galaxy far, far away more popular than ever before, any company would definitely be interested in working with Lucasfilm on some kind of promotional campaign to capitalize on the craze. Razor manufacturer Gillette, which previously asked "How Does the Man of Steel Shave?" when Zack Snyder's Man of Steel was coming out, has decided to partner up with the Mouse House to highlight the various unnamed heroes in the Star Wars universe. They recently released a new television spot titled "Every Story Has A Face," which you can watch above.
The commercial depicts a beach-set standoff between a group of Rebels and a squad of stormtroopers, focusing on one Alliance soldier in particular. Before any shots are fired, the footage is essentially rewound and shows viewers events from earlier that day, including the Rebels suiting up and flying to a planet where a battle is already underway. It ends by showing the soldier from the beginning washing his face in the morning before revealing that it was all an elaborate daydream in a fan's head as he shaves with his Gillette razor.
If the ad appears to have higher production values when compared to your typical razor commercial, that's because the director of photography, production photographer, crew, and extras for the spot also worked on Rogue One. They were able to bring a sense of authenticity here, and while some of the visual effects may not be as polished as they will be in actual film (for obvious budgetary reasons), the job done by Gillette is most impressive and strongly resembles some of the imagery seen in the official Rogue One trailers.
The ad's debut coincided with the release of brand new Rogue One themed Gillette special edition gift packs, with designs modeled after a basic stormtrooper, the Imperial Death Trooper, and a Rebel pilot. Each includes its own set of accessories and they're in stores now. They're sure to be highly sought after during holiday shopping. After all, most men shave as part of their daily routine. Check out images of the packs below:
For those interested, Gillette's official website has behind-the-scenes photos from the commercial, showing off the movie accurate costumes in great detail. It's unknown if they have more commercials planned, but with the new canon content fleshing out everyone from Han Solo to TR-8R further, there's a chance we haven't seen the last of this Rebel fighter, considering he makes it out of Rogue One alive.
Source: Gillette
