At the beginning of the year, Gillette unveiled a bold new advertising campaign. For decades, the company had declared itself “The Best a Man Can Get.” But what this ad presupposes is: What if the best a man can get… isn’t very good?
If you’re a man, you should feel ashamed of yourself after watching that. And if not, you should feel ashamed about that. Then you should run right out and buy some Gillette products, or else the patriarchy wins.
A few weeks ago, Gillette revealed that the brand has lost $8 billion with a “b.” It’s probably just a coincidence, but aggressively alienating 50 percent of the planet seems like a bad way to grow their business.
Maybe men are good for something. For example, if you’re trapped in a burning building, who’s going to rescue you: a radical feminist commercial director who makes big bucks by scolding billions of people for their immutable biological characteristics, or somebody like this guy?
Wow. How did this guy manage to go 80 seconds without sexually harassing anybody or otherwise subjugating women? Is Gillette backing away from reminding men how worthless we are?
Razor brand Gillette says it is “shifting the spotlight from social issues to local heroes” after an ad delving into “toxic masculinity” caused a customer backlash.
The new ad, which launched last week, stars Australian firefighter and personal trainer Ben Ziekenheiner…
“We have a very clear strategy when it comes to how we authentically connect with our consumers,” said Manu Airan, associate brand director for Gillette Australia and New Zealand.
“We will continue to talk about what is important to Gillette and that is representing men at their best and helping men do their best. That is not changing. We will continue to do that and demonstrate it in different ways.”
Well, that certainly is different, by today’s standards. In 2019, acknowledging that men are capable of courage, honor, and dedication to something greater than themselves is considered a bold new idea.
It sure is a delicate balancing act. Gillette executives are walking on the edge of a… I dunno, something really sharp.
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