Sacha Beeley directs A Song For Pubes, a funny and playful animated spot for razor brand Venus

In a new animation for razor brand Venus, London-based Sacha Beeley – who’s also part of The Greenhouse, a talent development programme for developing directors at Strange Beast – directs a singing and dancing spot around the topic of pubic hair. Created in response to the news that although half of US women feel that it’s more accurate to use the anatomical description, i.e. using the word “pubic”, only 18 per cent are using the term, according to the press release. A Song For Pubes sheds light on this topic and strives to reclaim the narrative around the use of language when describing bodies, presented in signature cartoony Beeley style.

Beeley is known for her playful character development, having previously released a charming and whacky music video for Babeheaven, plus a couple of vibrant idents for Adult Swim’s show Squidbillies. For this latest release, Beeley has directed and animated an equally playful film – a one-minute spot that gives a nod to West End theatrics and the musical ensembles of Disney. “Designing the character was such a funny stage of the project,” Beeley tells It’s Nice That. “I loved playing around with loopy, bouncy limbs to create a kind of character out of a pube. It took some reworking to get her to look the right level between shy and sassy, and not just like a freaky bug on the bathroom wall.”

Beeley was briefed to include Venus’ ongoing theme of the bathroom, a setting that consistently pops up in its campaigns and a place that the razor is typically used. Beeley often builds her own animated scenes in the bathroom, so she was able to draw from her wealth of experience in the field. “To tell you the truth, I looked back at the bathroom from my grad film, Big Toast, for inspiration. It will always be my favourite,” she says. “I usually have a shot with some taps in it, so the landscape was already in my comfort zone.”

Fitting with the musical genre aesthetic, Beeley pulled inspiration from the film Chicago. “I referenced where [the protagonist] weaves around mirrors as she sings. I thought that was a good movement to include at the beginning of the pube song, while the pace was still fairly slow and the pube is feeling a bit downbeat, looking at her reflection in the toothbrush holder. Another theatrical moment I like from the pube film is when the grey pube leaps across the bathtub singing, ‘no need to be ashaaamed!’ The vocals just made me laugh as it’s so operative, it deserved to be an extra goofy movement.”

A Song For Pubes is a lighthearted and comical ensemble, featuring fun characters, a joyful tone of voice, plus a colour palette of golds, blues, blush pinks and pastels. “The colours were a mixture of the brand’s palette and my own, and I added elements of pearly and iridescent colours to match the Venus products which I haven’t done before,” adds Beeley. “It’s something that I’m pleased with and will probably try out in future projects.

Head here to watch the film.