Beard Baubles
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Creative Advertising |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Pauline Ashford & Mike Kennedy |
| Headquarters | London |
Area served | 8 |
Key people |
|
| Products | Beard Baubles |
| Website | beardbaubles |
Beard Baubles is a creative concept and product developed by Pauline Ashford and Mike Kennedy in 2014.[1][2] It is a viral trend of decorating facial hair with small Christmas baubles and hair-clips in such a manner that resembles a Christmas tree.[3][4] Within a month of its inception, the idea gained worldwide popularity, attracting millions of customers.[5][6][7][8]
The fascinating idea by Pauline and Mike has been featured in countless media outlets, including USA Today, ABC News, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, MTV, CNBC, Channel 5, The Telegraph, Good Morning Britain and a significant number more.[9][10][11]
History
Beard Baubles was created by Pauline Ashford and Mike Kennedy in December 2014. The inception of this soon-to-be viral concept was initially for Grey London’s festive card. Grey London is the advertising agency for which both Pauline and Mike worked for as Creatives at that time. The first printed copies of their idea, which consisted of small baubles on the beards of Grey London staff members, made a lasting impression on the founders, making them realize that their idea can be turned into a groundbreaking marketable product and not simply be confined as a photography shoot.
Soon, many staff members at Grey London adopted the Beard Baubles. Seeing the popularity of the concept amongst staff, the company reached out to a charity client in Australia, Jimmy Niggles, founder of Beardseason.com (an initiative that encourages men to grow beards to protect their neck from melanomas). Jimmy Niggles supported the marketing and advertising campaign of the concept on his social media channels, and within a few days, Beard Baubles was featured on multiple media outlets globally. Also captivated by Beard Baubles, several broadcasters interviewed Pauline and Mike in relation to their idea.
The idea of Beard Baubles by Pauline and Mike gained worldwide popularity exponentially, which resulted in a shortage of available product. To please the customers who were unable to buy Beard Baubles in 2014, Pauline and Mike released a how-to video on YouTube that helped people make their own Beard Baubles at home.
All the money made by Pauline and Mike for their idea has been donated to charity; Beardseason.com and more recently, Cancer Research UK.
The festive trend of decorating facial hair to resemble a Christmas tree has continued to be a popular trend each year, during the months of November and December. Since 2014, hundreds of national retailers and companies in various countries have released their own versions of the original idea by Pauline and Mike.
In 2016, Pauline and Mike furthered their initial idea, expanding it to other variants such as Beard Lights, Beard Bells, and Beard Bunting as an extension of Beard Baubles.
Presently the founders of this viral idea don’t make or sell Beard Baubles and have licensed their idea - including the Beard Baubles variants - to a UK-based distributor of novelty gifts. Pauline and Mike have since left Grey London but still work in the advertising industry.
Beard Baubles as a company is no longer active, but there are many companies since 2014 who have come to sell a similar version of Beard Baubles.
Awards
The idea of Beard Baubles by Pauline and Mike earned a Creative Circle Award in 2015.
Gallery
In the media
References
- ↑ Quinn, Cassidy. "Decorate your face for the holidays with Beard Baubles". USA TODAY. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ "Beard baubles are the new must-have hipster accessory this December - Headlines, features, photo and videos from ecns.cn|china|news|chinanews|ecns|cns". www.ecns.cn. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ News, A. B. C. "Video: Beard Baubles: The Perfect Holiday Gift for Your Hipster Friends". ABC News. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
{{cite web}}:|last1=has generic name (help) - ↑ Healy, Blathnaid. "Beard Baubles are the most hipster gift this holiday season". Mashable. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ Burton, Bonnie. "Jingle Beards make for festive hipster facial hair". CNET. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ "Beard baubles: a festive trend that will grow on you". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ "Beard baubles: Try this kitsch but cool festive trend". Hindustan Times. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ "Will beard bauble craze catch on?". ITV. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ "Hairy Christmas! Beard baubles are an unexpected hit". ITV News. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ "Hipsters find new way to troll the world with beard baubles". www.indy100.com. 11 December 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
- ↑ Jack, Louise (9 December 2014). "Your Beard Won't Be Fully Festive This Season If It Doesn't Have Beard Baubles". Fast Company. Retrieved 26 January 2021.