In 2012, Dollar Shave Club rose to fame with a YouTube video that cost only $4,000 to produce, which garnered millions of views and established the irreverent tone of this direct-to-consumer challenger brand. More than a decade later, an ad the brand made for just $400 has reportedly become the most successful marketing campaign in its history.

On July 1, the brand launched an ad titled "250 Years. No BS. Still Free," produced by its in-house team using generative AI technology, which has been central to its advertising efforts in recent months. Laura Higgins, Dollar Shave Club's Chief Brand and Innovation Officer, said the company remains "fully" committed to AI to accelerate marketing and reduce costs. Higgins, who joined the company two months ago, has already led three ad launches.

"In the older, more traditional companies I've worked at, we could never have done this, and I think AI played a big role in that," Higgins said. "It allows creatives to focus on creativity, brand managers to focus on strategy, stripping away the mundane tasks so they can truly focus."

On Tuesday, Dollar Shave Club launched its latest AI-driven ad campaign to promote its best-selling Ball Spray product. The product previously sold out during a soft launch on the DTC platform without any marketing, but it also faced production issues. The "Danglers" ad includes a 15-second AI-generated main video featuring a pair of truck nuts as a stand-in for male genitalia, appearing in various exaggerated scenarios.

"Every day, your 'danglers' go through friction, sweat, and grime, and before you know it, you've failed the inspection again," a man says in the voiceover, as a truck is rejected by a woman in bed. Higgins said that because the concept was so over-the-top, it would have been impossible to produce the ad at the same speed and cost without AI.

"We have to be very careful when using real actors," the executive said. "AI allows us to present things in a cartoonish way and bring them to life, so consumers understand the joke."

In addition to "Danglers," the campaign also includes an ad titled "Size Matters," which positions travel-size Ball Spray as a lifestyle and fitness hack for scenarios like gym shoes and sweaty clothes. The ad also continues the company's efforts to reclaim its early brand voice—a voice that was suppressed during its time under Unilever.

"We are the original disruptors. We have to break the mold, be irreverent, and stand out to cut through the marketing noise in the market," Higgins said.

AI changes the scope of responsibilities for brands and agencies

Unlike previous campaigns, "250 Years. No BS. Still Free" was produced entirely in-house. Higgins briefed the internal team on the ad requirements, and the team spent three days using AI tools for concept development. The team also used AI tools including Higgsfield and Claude to create other elements, and the entire campaign was largely completed in about a week.

"We didn't remove the human element from the comedy; we used tools to iterate quickly and bring it to life," Higgins said of the process.

The speed and convenience of AI-driven advertising are changing how Dollar Shave Club works with Too Short For Modeling. The agency produced some of the brand's previous AI ads and initially provided the brief for "Danglers." Higgins expects Dollar Shave Club will continue to use the agency in the future, but perhaps not as frequently, as the in-house team has proven its capabilities.

While the "Danglers" campaign carries the explicit, genital-focused humor of Manscaped, the "250 Years" campaign is more in line with Dollar Shave Club's early advertising style. The 30-second ad inserts Dollar Shave Club—along with competitors Gillette and Harry's—into paintings of the American Revolution, drawing parallels between colonial anger over taxes and modern consumer wariness of hidden costs and unnecessary surcharges.

"We offered a $2.50 starter kit deal, which did attract people, but we found they actually bought more than just the $2.50 starter kit. So it's the ad concept, the price point, and then consumers come in," Higgins said of the campaign's success.

Returning to the early brand voice, combined with competitive jabs, may help Dollar Shave Club re-establish its brand position in the crowded grooming market. While the brand originally targeted men, it has made its first foray into women's grooming this year, delivering its "no BS" message to a different audience. Additionally, the brand plans to launch a brand-level platform campaign integrating all products around October, and will continue to innovate.

"As we continue to grow, what other products need us to 'call BS' on again? There are so many absurd products flooding the market right now," Higgins said. "How many razors with shiny handles do you need?"