Playful Violence

Dollar Shave Club is an online service that delivers men’s razors directly to purchaser’s doors. They recently released four videos that highlight what it’s like to buy razors at an expensive retailer in a comedic way. Their funny methods attract attention of their customers while also still selling their product. In one instance, the man buying a razor gets punched a few times by a trick one of the employees sets up. This is supposed to represent the way these employees often treat their customers.

In another one, an employee shoots a poisonous dart into a man who is simply trying to buy a razor.

Is the use of comedic violence effective in this case? Most razors have nothing to do with violence.

Are the producers creating a semblance of a problem that doesn’t actually exist in the first place?