Adam Scott, in the crucial moments before filming a scene, is preoccupied with his grooming, not his lines, and that’s a problem even before he launches into a story about his dad’s full and fabulous beard.
The actor—an affable scene-stealer known for Parks and Recreation, Party Down and Severance—is starring as himself in an ad for Philips Norelco, sitting in a makeup chair and waxing on about his facial hair heroes. The crew member trying to get him to focus on the upcoming shoot needs to talk script, not scruff, but he’s having no luck.
It’s the kind of awkwardly endearing exchange that fans have come to expect from Scott, who recently kicked off a partnership with Philips Norelco centered on a 60-second ad for the OneBlade electric shaver. (The brand calls him a “facial hair enthusiast.”)
The deal, which will include future content around Father’s Day, back to school and Christmas, is part of the brand’s effort to “empower people to define their unique styles with confidence,” according to Rafael Viestel da Silva, marketing director of Philips Grooming and Beauty.
Scott said he’s been a brand loyalist for years, after learning about the OneBlade from makeup artists on his various jobs. The outreach from Philips Norelco was “sheer coincidence” but perfectly organic, giving him a chance to use some real-life experiences as fodder for the marketing program.
As he says in the video, Scott learned to shave by watching movies and TV shows. (And his father really did, and does, have a handsome beard).
“There was not a lot of shaving in my house while I was growing up, so my perception of it was largely formed through movies and TV–one of my favorites was James Spader shaving in a gas station bathroom in Sex, Lies and Videotape,” Scott told Adweek. “As a teenager, that looked so cool to me, and I just wanted to emulate guys like that.”
