It’s not easy being the center of attention, especially when you’re a spa that does much of its creative conceptualizing in-house. But when Mike Indursky, President of Bliss Spa, and his team were asked if they’d like to be part of AMC’s The Pitch, they raised a ready hand and a perfectly arched brow.

The Pitch, now in its second season, offers a behind-the-scenes look at advertising agencies, each of which competes for a client’s attention in the hopes that their idea will be the one chosen. Tonight [August 22] Bliss puts an ad campaign for the recently launched depilatory product, ‘fuzz’ off, in the hands of competing agencies. Beauty Insider recently chatted with Mike about what’s to come.

Beauty Insider: What is the product agencies are contending for?
Mike Indursky: ‘Fuzz’ off removes hair on your upper lip and on your eyebrows. The name is clearly a take off on the f— word so it’s also a double entendre. Bliss sells about 80 sku’s and since its launch in April it’s already a number-one seller, but we didn’t have an outside advertising agency to do a campaign. When the show approached me, I thought this would be a great opportunity to get a fresh, outside perspective.

BI: Don’t most of your ideas come from in-house?
MI: They do. Part of what we want to accomplish is to bring the spa experience into homes and expand our at-home product categories, like waxing, body firming and facials. We created, named, and put ‘fuzz’ off on shelves in just under a year. We tend to move quickly from concept to market. But packaging and creative names for products is very different than an ad campaign. If you’re going to be in a magazine, knowing how the consumer interacts with the product is a very different type of communicating. Storytelling for a magazine is different than storytelling on a box.

BI: What was the hardest part about agreeing to be on the show?


MI: Wanting editorial rights and being able to cut out the things I didn’t like…of course that wasn’t something they were going to grant me. I’ve been in the creative business for 20 years, letting go of how you come across and what someone else ends up showing the world is a hard thing to give up. But I had a great time and it was all worth it.

BI: Why did the show pick you?
MI: I think they wanted a product or group that was more upbeat, positive and had a lot of personality. Last season they had a waste management company. And Subway.


BI: What do you hope viewers will take away from watching
The Pitch?


MI: If people don’t know who we are, I’m hoping they will learn to recognize the brand and gain a better understanding for what we do and who we are. If they already know about us, I’m hoping they will love us more. And of course, I’m hoping everyone will buy ‘fuzz’ off.

To find out the winning ‘fuzz’ off campaign tune in to AMC Thursday Aug. 22 at 11 p.m.