Observed Signal · May 5, 2026 · Marketing Strategy · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Manscaped Repositions with Whole‑Body Media Strategy
AdExchanger’s podcast episode (May 5, 2026) features Marcelo Kertész, CMO of Manscaped, discussing the brand’s repositioning from a groin-focused trimmer company to a whole‑body grooming platform — summarized internally as moving “from ball to all.” Kertész, who has a background in political and advertising campaigns, describes Manscaped’s creative approach including its first Super Bowl spot (an over‑the‑top ad with anthropomorphic singing hair balls) to change perception. The brand is shifting marketing spend from lower-funnel performance tactics toward upper-funnel awareness (tracking KPIs like social buzz, brand lift and consideration), accepting longer purchase decision cycles and emphasizing a culture of experimentation and differentiated measurement for test spend.
Case study of a D2C brand shifting significant media dollars to upper‑funnel creative (including a Super Bowl spot) and emphasizing brand KPIs and experimentation — relevant tactical signals for marketers but not industry‑shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Manscaped is repositioning from a below‑the‑belt grooming brand to a whole‑body grooming platform.
- Marcelo Kertész is CMO of Manscaped and discussed the strategy on AdExchanger Talks.
- Manscaped ran its first Super Bowl spot earlier in the year to signal the repositioning.
- The company is tracking KPIs including social buzz, brand lift and consideration rather than immediate sales.
- Manscaped shifted media allocation from roughly 70% lower‑funnel to nearly 70% upper‑funnel spend.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Super Bowl Debuts: Manscaped and Ro Aim to Transform Brands
Direct-to-consumer grooming brand Manscaped and telehealth company Ro are making their Super Bowl debuts to broaden audience perception beyond their original niches. Manscaped is shifting media mix from lower-funnel DTC tactics to upper-funnel branding to show it sells more than groin grooming and to attract female buyers, per CMO Marcelo Kertesz. Ro, which began as Roman and now offers GLP-1 treatments, aims to be seen as a comprehensive health provider; its spot features Serena Williams and emphasizes broader health benefits beyond weight loss. Both brands are working with TV measurement firm Tatari to track short-term traffic and sales and longer-term brand-affinity shifts using metrics like branded search, surveys and retailer sales. They expect immediate site traffic and plan to evaluate incremental sales and reputation changes over months.
Winning Strategies for First-Time Big Game Advertisers
At an Adweek House panel co-hosted by Tatari, marketing leaders from Manscaped, Ro, Tecovas and Life360 discussed their decisions and strategies for debuting ads during the 2026 Big Game. Panelists described why 2026 was the right moment to advertise on the Big Game (product and distribution scale, brand expansion), how they measured TV’s impact across channels, and the metrics they will track after the spot airs. Tecovas cited a controlled experiment where pausing TV spend led to double-digit declines in ecommerce and retail traffic within four weeks. Life360 said it will prioritize awareness and track “intrigue metrics” (search, app downloads, website engagement) and use MMM to evaluate revenue effects.
Brandformance Returns: Brand Health Metrics Resurge
A Digiday Podcast episode and accompanying coverage highlight a renewed industry focus on brand health metrics as marketers seek to blend brand and performance approaches ('brandformance'). Advances in measurement tools, wider access to media-mix modeling, and pressure from large language models (LLMs) to manage brand presence have driven interest in metrics like brand lift alongside ROAS and CPA. Speakers include Tim Peterson (Digiday), Kevin Goodwin (New Engen) and Kelly Ballou (Designer Brands Inc), who described DSW/DBI’s biannual brand-health tracker. Publishers also report retraining sales teams to sell brand awareness again after a performance-heavy period following the e-commerce boom.
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