IN 1975, when Nair introduced its “If you dare wear short-shorts, Nair for short-shorts” commercials, the women high-kicking their way down a stairway were all in their twenties. Iterations of that short-shorts campaign ran for nearly 30 years, but the women cast in the ads remained in their twenties.
Now Nair, the depilatory maker, is finally breaking that mold — by aiming at even younger customers. This year the company introduced Nair Pretty, a line aimed at 10- to 15-year-olds or, in industry parlance, “first-time hair removers.” The product comes in kiwi and peach scents, in packages that show illustrations of doe-eyed teenage girls, and for the first time Nair is marketing directly to middle-schoolers. Ads for Nair Pretty, which are running in magazines like CosmoGirl and Seventeen, make no mention of boys or romance, but rather suggest that the depilatory is a stubble-free path to empowerment.
