The Best an Ad Can Get?

1/26/2019

by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

When I was growing up, our family had a small, easily-provoked dog. He was responsible for holes in many pairs of my socks from times I tried to slip past him while he was in an especially protective mood. The person he guarded was my mother because she made sure he had food. Our dog knew better than to ‘bite the hand that fed him.’ I wonder, was our pet smarter than one of the world’s leading consumer products companies?

If you haven’t seen it, Gillette, the global purveyor of men’s personal care products, recently released a video ad titled “We Believe: The Best a Man Can Be.” The 1:49 minute commercial doesn’t push razors, rather it’s an image-building ad that renounces two contemptable behaviors that some men commit: sexual harassment and bullying.

The ad showcases an array of mainly scripted clips in which males, some old, some young, enact a variety of despicable acts like groping women and punching their peers. Meanwhile, a chorus of other men chants a unison refrain of rationalization, “Boys will be boys.”

The ad’s narration and text overlays provide corrective commentary:
“We believe in the best in men.”
“It’s only by challenging ourselves to do more that we can get closer to our best.”
“We are taking action at thebestmencanbe.org”

In many ways, Gillette’s messaging makes sense. The company has taken a stand against two terribly wrong and destructive behaviors and called out the men who commit them. Using a powerful quote from actor-turned-sexual-harassment-activist Terry Crews, the ad also encourages every man not to stand idly by when they see such reprehensible actions but to intervene: “Men need to hold other men accountable.”

Despite all the apparent good, the commercial has quickly become a lightning rod for controversy. Dozens of media, from Advertising Age, to Glamour, to USA Today, have run articles about the ad. As one might imagine, some commentary from the authors as well as from the general public has been positive, while other responses have been quite negative.

For instance, @pstdavid_ tweeted, “Finally got a chance to see this #GilletteAd. Quite honestly, I don’t get what all the fuss is about. In my opinion, they’re not “taking a stand on toxic masculinity” or ‘stealing your manhood.’ All they’re suggesting is that you be a decent human being. It’s not that difficult.”

Another Gillette consumer, however, tweeted a picture of his hand poised above a trash can, about to discard the Gillette razor he received on his 18th birthday and used for the past 15 years, including through basic training and four deployments. (1) The soon-to-be-former customer lamented, “since @Gillette thinks I’m a bad person, I’m throwing it away.”

Another user, @davidliedtka, took an even more extreme approach, placing his Gillette shaving creme and razor in an oven and setting the temperature to 505 degrees.

Wow. Those are strong reactions. Does Gillette or any organization that’s trying to right serious social wrongs deserve such reprisals?

The first time I saw the commercial, my reaction was generally positive: A strong brand that has built a solid reputation among millions of men was using that influence to ask them to be better. Such a plea from a huge corporate player might stand a chance of making a difference in our world. Still, there were things about the spot that didn’t seem right.

A second time through the ad, I noticed more of the agency’s specific creative decisions. For instance, while the spot’s small amount of real video footage worked, the many acted segments looked overly artificial and contrived, even though they depicted terrible events that unfortunately occur. The use of both real and scripted video seemed like a mismatch.

I hadn’t thought much more about the ad, until one of my marketing students emailed me a link to another company’s commercial that was purportedly a response to Gillette’s ad. The next day he asked if I had watched the ad. I had been very busy, so I replied I hadn’t but I was looking forward to seeing it soon.

That night I opened his email and clicked the YouTube link, which took me to an ad posted by Egard Watch Company. Viewing the 1:57 minute commercial just once, changed my perspective of Gillette’s ad.

Egard’s commercial opens with several male firefighters battling an inferno, then quickly cuts to one of them carrying a young girl safely away from the flames. Meanwhile, a narrator asks, “What is a man?” The ad continues with a wide variety of real video clips, many showing men doing very difficult or even dangerous physical labor, while the narrator poses additional questions like “Is a man brave?”, “Is a man a protector?”, and “Is a man disposable?”

The spot also shares some very sobering statistics, such as:

Men account for 93% of workplace fatalities.
Men comprise over 97% of war fatalities.
79% of all homicide victims are male.
Men account for 80% of all suicide victims.

The commercial concludes on a positive note, asking “Is a man trying?” and offering the company’s view of masculinity: “We see the good in men.”

As marketer, I realize that the right music with moving images can tug at one’s emotions; however, Egard’s ad resonated with me, and perhaps the 324,000 people who have liked, it for another reason. Egard reminded us of the many men in our lives that we have known and loved.

The ad caused me to remember my grandfathers: one a coalminer, the other a farmer. To support their families, both did very hard, physical work that must have greatly tested both their bodies and their minds. Having experienced the ravages of WW II, my father-in-law, emigrated from Ukraine, to Brazil, to the United States, where he worked for over 30 years in a bearing factory as a tool and die maker—labor that likely explains his great loss of hearing today. My own father was not able to finish high school, yet he started his own business at age 25 and worked tirelessly with my mother to earn enough to put four children through college.

None of these men were/is perfect. Neither is their grandson/son—I’ve made plenty of mistakes; although, I don’t think I’ve done anything that someone could call bullying or sexual harassment. Most men probably can say the same. Most of the mistakes we make are not because we’re men; they’re because we’re human.

The problem with Gillette’s ad is that it stereotypes men. Not all males act like Harvey Weinstein or ‘Scott Farkus,’ the bully from A Christmas Story. In fact, the vast majority do not. Of course, Gillette’s ad doesn’t directly say that all men are sexual predators or bullies, but it does put all men in the same stereotypical boxes through some subtle visual and verbal suggestions.

One such insinuation in Gillette’s spot is the seemingly infinite lineup of men, all standing behind their BBQ grills with arms folded, chanting in unison, “Boys will be boys.” The ad’s narration also makes a stereotypical suggestion by tagging onto Crew’s “Men need to hold other men accountable” quote, adding: “ . . . accountable to act the right way; some already are, in ways big and small. But some is not enough.” I’d like to reiterate the belief that it’s most men who are acting the right way, not some.

Another Twitter user, Melissa Chen (@MsMelChen), who self-identifies as Asian, supports the suggestion that Gillette’s ad stereotypes men. She says:
“I can get behind the message that we all can be better. But the #GilletteAd ended up painting an entire demographic with a negative stereotype perpetuated by a few. Imagine the uproar if it was an ad about a racial group with higher crime rates saying, “‘you can be better.’”

Of course, on top of all this analysis is the fact that men are Gillette’s main target market.* Its iconic tagline is “The Best a Man Can Get.” Given that our family’s dog knew better than to bite the hand that fed him, it’s hard to imagine why one of the world’s biggest brands would want to risk ‘cutting the faces it shaves,’ especially when already on the ropes in a fight against Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club.

One instance of bullying or one case of sexual harassment is one too many. As such, Gillette can be commended for taking a stand against those injustices and for suggesting that others do the same. However, the company should have known much better than to unfairly throw its entire target market under the bus with broadly generalized talk of “toxic masculinity.” It’s wrong to degrade others in any way, including by negatively stereotyping, which makes Gillette guilty of “Mindless Marketing.”

*An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Gillette does not make products for women.

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32 Comments

Joey DePaul

1/27/2019 11:54:28 am

I would agree with this Gillette ad being mindless. First of all, while some people might see the ad and go out of their way to buy razors, I think most will not. Since their primary market is guys, I think most will react poorly to the ad. I think there are some serious societal issues being pointed out, but they generalize men. Not ALL men do these things, most do not. There is no way they profit from this add or add value. I also don't think the ad upholds societal values. The ad was too out there and tried to face too many issues at once like bullying and sexual harassment. The way they did it it seemed they tried to blame all men, which just is not true. This will push more people away then towards the company. People are talking about it, but not in a good light. Thus, this ad is mindless.

Andrew Chez

1/27/2019 11:55:12 am

Upon watching the advertisement and putting some thought into the topic of Mindful Marketing before reading the blog post, I would have agreed with the fact that this advertisement is an example of 'Mindless Marketing.' While I agree with Gillette in a sense that there are men who mistreat women, I did not agree with the way they presented the topic. I do not think that it is fair to present it in the way that they did. One part that especially jumped put at me was the part in which the two children were play wrestling in the grass. While I do not condone violence, it was clear to me that the boys were both having fun and no harm was brought out by their playfulness.

Joston Chan

1/27/2019 04:04:57 pm

After watching both ads, Gillette and Egard watch, I agree to your claim that Gillette ad is guilty of mindless marketing. At first, after just watching Gillette, I was going to support them because men do behave in a sinful way that we do sexually harass, fight or make mistakes but it is not just men, but women too. We are all humans and thus, we all make mistakes. Gillette is targeting its own target market and they are going to lose a lot of its consumers due to this mindless advertising. They should not have publish an advertisement without looking at the bigger picture. Instead of just jumping on the gun, Gillette could have done a better job by implementing both Gillette's bad men' aspect and Egard's men's value aspect into one advertisement. This will create a better informational advertisement because it will talk about both the good side and bad side of men.

Ima Undieh

1/28/2019 10:31:39 am

Before criticizing this advert myself, I showed it to some of my friends and told others about it. Generally, none had a problem with it. I also went unto social media to see what others had to say. I had to disagree with most of the negative remarks. Honestly, I realized that there was little to nothing to be offended about if one was not guilty of any of the crimes Gillette pointed out. I thought about other ads being directed at women, the target market of some producers. Most do not get offended by ads pointing out that most women would want to lose weight, want the perfect gift or other stereotypical aspects of women, even though all are not true. Now, the issues Gillette spoke on were much more serious, but the fact that they are does not change the objective reality of such, only the emotional weight which we carry while analyzing such an ad. The only error I saw with it is that it left its viewers with such a strange feeling since it was a mix of serious and humorous. The exaggeration put in play was over the top, even though it may have been done like this to reduce the intensity of the ad, however, such ads do not need to be watered down since many people already know the cold truths about it. The biggest argument is ‘not all men...,’ but I think that is a matter of common sense. It is obviously not all men. Most of the men in charge of releasing the ad were probably never guilty of all the charges they put out. I believe it is in thinking about it from the standpoint of the marketers that we get to see what their real intention was while making it. In this case, the advertising was ‘mindless’, but not because of what they put out, but due to the reaction of their target market. If all is lost in the end and Gillette loses its grip on most men, it might still be able to reposition itself in the market and focus on women, If i am to think of this objectively.

Steve Shepherd

1/28/2019 01:43:18 pm

I was surprised to see this labeled as mindless, but then again I have been surprised by the backlash in general. It isn't saying all men are terrible people. It is pointing out the ways, big and small, than men can do better. "The problem with Gillette’s ad is that it stereotypes men. Not all males act like Harvey Weinstein..." true, but too many are, and too many either look the other way or contribute in some way to the problem by not calling out their gross friends. In fact, most of the examples that stood out to me in the ad were friends calling out their friends on their behavior. Even if you do not subscribe to a toxic form of masculinity or harass women, we can ALL probably do better in some way, reflect on our own behavior, improve, and be more mindful of women's experiences and listen to women. We have lots of blind spots.

Joe Vigliano

1/28/2019 03:33:57 pm

I have to admit to being baffled by the negative reactions to the Gillette ad. “The lady doth protest too much methinks” comes to mind. Except in this case it’s the man, not the lady who protests, coming across as overly defensive. Like others, I don’t believe it paints all men with a broad brush, as has been the accusation. The statistics quoted here in defense of men are interesting, to say the least. “79% of all homicide victims are male.” Ignores the fact that 96% of all homicides are committed by males (2014). “Men comprise over 97% of war fatalities.” It’s not clear if that is citing combat fatalities, where the vast majority of combatants are male. A look at casualty lists from Iraq and Syria quickly puts to rest the idea that fatalities among the general population are 97% male.
But I need to part company with those who say “most men” are not guilty of bullying or sexual harassment. This ad addresses the toxic masculinity that is rampant in our society. People--men in particular--don’t see it because it is so much a part of our culture. Here’s statistic that points in that direction: 64% of men admit to viewing pornography at least once a month. Almost two-thirds take part in the objectification of female bodies and the dehumanization of women. Every month. Almost two-thirds is not a small sliver on the fringe of society. Think things are getting better with the younger generation? Monthly viewing jumps to 79% among men 18-30. And according to the Journal of Sex Research, “aggressive porn” is on the increase.
Let me be clear: porn use does not cause toxic masculinity; it’s a reflection of toxic masculinity. The Gillette ad shines a light into that darkness. I’d say most of us men DO have a problem. We may not be actively acting out toxic masculinity in its extreme forms, but we are certainly complicit. As Martin Luther King said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” There are more than a few good men out there. The Gillette ad is calling upon them to let go of their passivity and to use their powerful masculinity for the good. The good of society. And for the good of themselves.

Susan Vigliano

1/28/2019 04:24:27 pm

I believe it may be a quote from someone else in your blog, but wanted you to know that Gillette doesn’t make razors and shaving product for men only. They also make product for women. I just bought some pink Gillette razors for my daughter this week.

Also, I don’t fall into the camp that this ad stereotypes men in general. The ad shows both healthy and unhealthy representations of male behavior. The point is to impact the massive systems of protection and complicity that allow Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Matt Lauer, and Brock Turner get away with “Boys Will Be Boys” behavior. The ad is addressing the systems of passivity and complicity. Brock Turner received only three months in jail for raping a woman. The reason? They didn’t want to see his life ruined.

I teach the public on the harms of porn, and spent 18 years in the corporate world, where one boss asked for sex flat out, another asked if he could throw nickels at my breasts to see if they would bounce, and more...way more. Sadly, I think there are more men who need to be checked on these behaviors than you might understand. Since you haven’t been a woman it may not be apparent to you. That doesn’t mean I think all men are this way. I’m married to an amazing man and am raising two sons who are equally moral, responsible and upstanding. They are also rough and tumble. My years of porn and sex trafficking research has shown me things that most don’t see or understand. It’s prolific and epidemic and an enormous factor in this issue. But nothing is more at fault than the complicity and interest in protecting men from "ruined lives: when they act out. Cat calling won't get you landed in court but most women have experienced it. Somewhere between most and many women have experienced being talked down to by a man who isn't doing it to other men. Ask the ladies you work with and who attend your class if they have ever been grabbed in the butt or patted on the butt. Ask for a confidential survey of how many have endured sexual misconduct of some kind. The stats of 1/3 of women experiencing sexual assault doesn't include the cat-calling, butt pats, being talked down to like we are too emotional and stupid to contribute, or uncomfortable advances.

I am thrilled at ANY attempt to raise awareness and conversation on this topic. Anything that will help. I’m thrilled that Gillette produced this ad. It concerns me greatly that instead of supporting the effort that some men are offended, defensive, and critical. Especially the good guys. It's super important to find out why the backlash. Something is very, very wrong with this backlash and fear that white men are under attack and going be falsely accused of bad things. The stats on false rape reports are so minuscule (4-7 percent) compared to unreported rape.

There is so much at stake. There is so much harm being done. If I shared my experiences alone it would render some speechless. I hope that more of the good guys will engage in checking these behaviors and changing the system.

Bravo, Gillette, for doing their part. I’m grateful that someone is.

I think you’re off-base and not as well informed as you could be.

Maci Thornton

1/28/2019 10:43:34 pm

I understand why this ad leaves a bad taste in our mouths. I understand that not all men are guilty of what the ad presents, but the statistics provided in a previous comment speak for themselves. Toxic masculinity, sexual harassment, bullying, etc., are major problems in our society. There is no escaping it, and fighting the existence of such issues, and their prevalence in our world today changes nothing. In fact, refusing to accept that many men, not "some," and even women are guilty of such actions and ideologies only contributes to the problem. I watched the Today show when the anchors discussed this ad. Interestingly, the table consisted of three men and one woman. All three men agreed that the ad paints men in a terrible way, yet the female anchor expressed the importance of shedding light on such issues. I was not surprised in the slightest that the male anchors reacted the way they did. I think most men who see the ad focus on how it makes them look rather than admitting that these issues happen every day, all around us. For that, Gillette may have been "mindless" in creating this ad because their main target market (men) reacted negatively. But I admire the company for being bold and addressing what most want to ignore.

Owen Snyder

1/29/2019 11:28:28 am

While I understand both arguments that both sides are trying to make, they both went about their ads in very biased ways. I agree that there is a problem in society with men and how they treat and view women. From I very young age I was taught that women are something to nature and care for, not something to conquer or objectify. I think that the culture we have created, is a result of our past and lack of control. I can say first hand that I have family members who were sexually abused and assaulted, but that doesn't mean that every man is the same. When I showed some of my family members (both men and women) this ad, they all said the same thing, "I understand what they're getting at, but thats a lot". Gillette tried way too hard to tackle way too many social issues in one ad and people noticed. The counter ad was way too biased towards men and painting them in this really good light. Now if you mix the two ads and have elements from both that show the good and the bad in men, well then I think you might have seen a different response from people. I read that Gillette's sales went down by nearly 40% in the UK after the ad was released, AND thats the UK. The ad was targeting American men, not the UK, yet it still left a bad taste in their mouth. When you attack your target market and make them feel like their pieces of crap because of the way the minortiy of men act, you're going to lose sales. The idea and reasoning behind these ads are both good, but how they went about it wasn't.

Jarod Bingaman

1/29/2019 12:08:42 pm

I agree with Gillette's ad being mindless. When I first saw the ad, I didn't understand what they were thinking when they aired the ad from the start. With being such a good brand that holds so much market space, it makes no sense to bash the consumers that use your product. It is totally pointless. Not all men are evil and out to take advantage of women or other individuals. A majority of men in the world are hard working, loving individuals who only care for their families. This is my view on the Gillette "a better man" ad.

Owen Joyce

1/29/2019 03:38:51 pm

I am not a fan of the Gillette ad, especially being a direct consumer of their products. They shouldn't have stereotyped their biggest market in men. As was once famously stated in the movie Animal House "you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals". Gillette shouldn't blame the whole gender for the poor decisions and actions of a minuscule percentage of men. They could have easily taken a different approach to bring awareness and change to the issues they brought up in the ad. An example of this would be donating money or partnering with the organizations who are built just to fight these issues.

Mackenzie Williams

1/29/2019 03:45:54 pm

After giving it some thought, there are multiple sides to take with this controversial advertisement. I see where people come from with the view of not all men are hurtful to others, however, I also see where people come from who agree with the statements made during the commercial of men being inhuman to fellow humans. I think it is mindless marketing however, you must keep in mind the thought process of victims of such awful experiences talked about in the Gillette commercial. I don't agree with the follow through of the scenarios bought up in the advertisement either. The same emotional effect could have been executed without the physical demonstrations used. I think you have to keep all your target market into prospective, probably half of the razors bought for men were bought by women. I don't believe that Gillette is selling more razors to women with a commercial such as this. Touchy subjects are always hard to try and get into an advertisement, no matter how you present an issue, publicity will take it out of control for sure.

Reed Bond

1/29/2019 08:47:22 pm

I am not a fan of the new Gillette ad. I think that Gillette should have stayed away from stereotyping. They could have done anything else to help this topic, for example they could have donated money to help the cause, but instead they decided to put all men into the stereotype that men are all bad, sexist people. In reality, there is only a very small percentage of men who do that. I agree that that small percentage should be punished, but only the small percentage. Also saying phrase "Boys will be boys" could be twisted in any direction. If Gillette had taken a stance on Police brutality and had said "Cops will be Cops", the backlash would be much worse. I think that this ad was very mindless and could have been easily avoided.

Makayla Miller

1/29/2019 09:08:13 pm

While Gillette's presentation may not have been the best, I think they bring up very valid points throughout the ad. I can acknowledge that not all men act in the ways shown in the video, but personally I have seen many of the actions portrayed in person. I also have seen countless men let these actions slide under the radar, which I saw as the primary issue Gillette was bringing up. From my perspective I saw it more as a call to action for the men that don't fit into this stereotype. Most men don't take part in physical harassment, but they condone sexual jokes or minor belittling of women by either taking part in these smaller actions or not interfering. It seemed to me that Gillette was making a call to action to stop things on a smaller scale and to change the social environment so they don't turn into large scale problems like sexual harassment. While the "boys will be boys" clip was poorly displayed the major point I got from that was when you excuse play fighting at a young age it could evolve into bullying later in life. In terms of the watch company's commercial I do appreciate their stance and the statistics they pointed out, but I think the stats were taken out of context. Most of those rates of death are as high as they are because of the gender constructs still present in those work forces. Men are still the majority population in the army and in fields where work related deaths occur. Also women are three times more likely to attempt suicide than men, but men are three times more likely to complete the action because of the means each gender used to commit suicide. So while I appreciate the point this ad was trying to get across I think they took some things out of context and could have portrayed it in a better way. I am also disappointed with Gillette because their poor execution of a serious and deserving topic in my opinion created more dissonance on this topic than unity.

Ben Feenstra

1/29/2019 09:10:15 pm

Gillette's ad attempts too much at once. It tries to address every issue related to men as possible. I personally do not lean one way or another. Some guys need to calm down and be held responsible yet at the same time I feel like I'm being blamed for something I didn't do. I think the backlash from this ad is excessive. I have never harassed a woman and have never been in the presence of it either so I can just ignore the ad an move on with my day. The Egard ad was good at bringing up a lot of facts that need to be talked about but behind it all, I'm not their idea of a man either, I'm just a dude behind a computer. I felt like neither ad targeted me because "being a man" doesn't mean anything to me. A man is not a hero or a villain, it is his actions that describe what he is. "Is a man trying?" the Egard ad asks; I think all humans are trying our best but I know from personal experience that sometimes our best isn't that good.

Eric Weischedel

1/29/2019 09:43:15 pm

I agree with you for the most part, except the idea that the ad is saying most men are bad. Nowhere in the ad is it apparent that Gillette thinks an unrealistic number of men are doing bad things. The ad is calling out bad behavior, but it is not saying most men do bad things. The main persuasive point that Gillette is trying to get across is that men should challenge themselves and each other to be better. This is evident by the text at the end of the spot that reads “It’s only by challenging ourselves to do more that we can get closer to our best.” This thesis makes the target audience not bad men, but good men who can stop other men from being bad. Gillette is promoting a culture of accountability. Therefore, the ad upholds societal values. I believe Gillette’s message was well-intended, but listeners interpreted it wrong. I think those with negative opinions of the ad were too overwhelmed with the bad behaviors the ad presented to see the main point. Because of this, Gillette failed to foresee how these people would interpret the ad and caused a miscommunication. Due to this backlash, the ad does not create stakeholder value. I would categorize the ad as simple-minded.

Michael Williams

1/30/2019 12:55:05 am

I agree with what you said throughout the post. I think that Gillette some people in a box and categorized and portrayed all men in that manner. Also I think that there were a lot of people who jumped on the bus too quickly in agree and disagreeing on the matter. The message that it tried to portray that sexual harassment and violence are bad was good because it is bad, just the way that they went about it wasn't great. And I'm sure the company was fully aware that they were going to get some backlash, but probably not to the extent that some people took it too, like some of your examples that you provided. I thought the response from Egard was definitely well needed, to show the world that there are a different side to men than what the Gillette ad represented. All in all I think that the ad was either mindless or simple-minded because of the points that you said, but also because of the message it was trying to portray.

Stephen Maloney

1/30/2019 01:04:16 am

I do not wish to be critical to an advertisement for Gillette or act sensitive toward the topic, however I do feel enough has been enough. As a male society does no often give men the credit that we are due sometimes. Yes, sexual harassment and bullying are real things and ought to be condemned. But this ad acts as if we all do it. It has got to the point that a man's word means virtually nothing anymore and can be accused of anything in this world without true supporting evidence just because you're a male. Every human being makes mistakes male and female alike, but innocent till proven guilty. Gillette's ad does more to break men down in an already hostile society, but Egard builds us up and inspires to do good. When I was growing up my mom and dad taught me how to treat other people and how to treat a woman like a gentlemen should. My dad worked hours upon hours to support my family, building a company from scratch, not coming home till dark many nights to provide for us out of love. That is what a man does and he has been the greatest example to me of what a true man is. Gillette's ad to me is mindless because it drives away their best customers. Along with this, if we look deeper into those statistics as well you will other facts that will display what a real man is.

Bryan Slusser

1/30/2019 11:46:50 am

After watching the Gillette ad, I believe they made the wrong choice in the direction of the ad. Gillette's target market is men, and this ad attacks the way some men act, and it portrays it in a bad way. The saying boys will be boys isn't a bad saying in my opinion. The ad should've taken a different direction that doesn't attack certain individuals within the target market.

David Kudrick

1/30/2019 11:57:36 am

I would have to place this in the mindless category. From my perspective and first reaction it seems that the advertisement was very offensive to men. It disgusts me that marketers would release an advertisement that bashes its own target market and expect this to change anything and or bring market value to their product. As a Christian, I believe there is no room for sexual harassment in society today, yet this is not the standard which the advertisement portrays it to be.

Logan Andrews

1/30/2019 12:32:56 pm

I agree that this ad is mindless. It isn't quite a sound marketing strategy to generalize your target market in a negative light. There are many stereotypes that can be laid down on an array of ethnic or gender classes, but when it is put upon men, it is applauded. However, if the same sort of attack were to be put upon any other group of people, a minority for example, it would be scrutinized relentlessly for being racist, sexist, or out of touch. While abuse and sexual harassment can be condemned by just about everybody, a man trying to approach a women whom he is attracted to does not quite deserve a demonization and to be put down as "toxic masculinity."
After all, aren't all of us here because at some point a man spoke to a woman whom he was attracted to?

Ryan

3/6/2019 11:25:12 pm

While I understand the backlash and controversy surrounding the Gillette advertisement, I personally do not think that it is mindless because I believe that the message conveyed is necessary. There is no denying that our culture has become hypersexualized and that sexual harassment is a problem, even if the majority of men are not guilty of it. Most of the criticisms about the ad are likely the result of confusion regarding the central messages that the company is attempting to promote. I had a meaningful conversation with a friend about the ad shortly after it gained significant public attention, and many of the points that he articulated in defense of the ad are ones that I would also advocate. The term “toxic masculinity” and the phrase “boys will be boys” are enough to trigger negative reactions, but I would argue that Gillette uses them meaningfully and that these terms have often been misused in casual conversation, resulting in misconceptions about their true meanings. When one watches the ad without presupposing that it stereotypes men and becoming defensive, then the underlying value becomes evident. Societal expectations of who a man is supposed to be and the ways that he is required to defend that identity have had serious consequences, and Gillette is acting honorably by issuing a plea to correct this. The Twitter user who went so far as to throw away his razor because he believed that Gillette was painting him out to be a bad person is one example of a viewer who missed the acknowledgment that there are good men in the world who need to hold other men accountable. There is nothing wrong with encouraging men to strive to be positive role models, and the value of the ad should not be diminished based on the fact that men constitute a large percentage of the target market of the company. On the contrary, I think that the ad is more meaningful because Gillette was willing to accept the ramifications for the sake of standing on its values. I respect Gillette for using its position of influence.

Christian Beyer

3/14/2019 12:33:12 am

I, much like yourself, did not have a problem when I first saw the ad. I felt that it was a decent call to end terrible situations such as bullying or sexual harassment and raise awareness for these issues. I also viewed the video in response to this ad and had a similar reaction. Gillette's attempt to strive for a better world and call out men to be better ultimately back lashed in my opinion. They are trying to call out men that fit into the frame of "toxic masculinity" and paint all mean or at least most as bad. The way they presented this ad demonized men and attempted to make men feel guilty simply for being men, and attempted to victimize woman into feeling as though they are owed something because they are women. Men should surely respect women with the utmost importance and reverence, but demonizing and stereotyping men into thinking they are bad because they are men does not help this issue what so ever.

William Litfin

3/14/2019 06:53:30 pm

I at first didn't understand what the fuss was about with this ad. Why does it matter if Gillette called out sexual harassment and bullying? However after analyzing this ad, it is clear that this ad does more harm than good. The author is right in saying this is not a male issue, it's a human issue. Boys will be boys, but boys can, and do, express their energies in plenty of ways that are not harmful. While toxic masculinity can be a problem, this ad is incorrect in saying that all men are this way by nature.

Chad Williams

3/17/2019 06:10:31 pm

While I can understand the sense of alienation that may be felt by certain demographics of this ad, I think it is an interesting move on their part to move toward a more pro-social corporate social responsibility. I think that the opinion one has on the ad has to do a lot with underlying perception, and I have heard quite positive comments from my peers on the ad campaign. It is a bold move for a company to make statements like this, but as you said "some commentary from the authors as well as from the general public has been positive". If they can demonstrate that they believe in what they say, (donating to charities that help counsel/aid in legal fees/etc to victims, for instance), then I think this could be a very successful campaign.

With regards to the Egard Company ad, I think it also could be a very successful campaign as well. I think that both ads complement each other, describing places of improvement in masculine culture, while also praising the virtues within that as well.

I think that, rather than changing my perspective on the Gillette ad, the Egard ad widened it. As a synthesis, both ads painted a condition that can be used to make a better society: to orient oneself to both respect and improve cultural institutions.

Carlin Choi

3/17/2019 10:42:34 pm

I believe that Gillette has the right purpose in mind, but expresses it in a very wrong way. They are going against the acts of "toxic masculinity," but are doing it in a way that makes it seem like a lecture. Nobody wants to be told what to do. There is a big difference between lecturing someone and encouraging someone. Lecturing or commanding almost always brings about a negative response, whereas encouraging is always met with the will to change and be better. This difference really defines the contrast between the Gillette and Egard ads. Gillette is almost scolding the male demographic. The title of their commercial on YouTube is "We Believe: The Best Men Can Be". Well, it really doesn't seem like Gillette believes in men. It really seems like Gillette is saying that they want men to be better. The Egard Watches ad on the other hand is more so encouraging men to be protectors, hard workers, and brave. They encourage men to be these things because that is what men were naturally made to be. It is what men already are. Therefore, the takeaway is that Gillette should have been more encouraging rather than condescending and commanding.

Michael F.

3/18/2019 11:46:20 pm

I too would have placed this ad in the mindless category. The first time I saw the ad I knew it was going to be a hot topic in the news and I knew people weren't going to like. On the other hand, I knew that there was going to be people who whole-heartedly agreed with the message of the ad and would stand with Gillette, but I think they took it a little too far. Like you said, the scenarios used in the ad only relate to a small percent of males, not all of them. By putting men into this category of "all men are bad", Gillette was demoralizing men just for being men. In fact, the scene where all the dads are saying "boys will be boys" shows us that this isn't something that men develop overtime, but something that starts when we are kids. I believe Gillette could have done a much better job of presenting their opinion because sexual harassment and bullying are a real issue, but not all men are doing it and men aren't always the cause of these issues.

Coleman

3/19/2019 12:56:48 am

I don't think anyone is going to try to argue in defense of any man committing terrible acts like bullying or sexual harassment. However, one problem that this article identifies is that it's not men that do these awful things, its humans that do these awful things. Now, logically, these accusations would be directed at men because data might disproportionally show men perpetrating these acts. So, if Gillette is going to be taking these proportions into account, they need to take into account the proportion that MOST men are not doing these things at all. Where Gillette went wrong is not taking a stand against these awful things, it is grouping in all men into this fight against "toxic masculinity". Gillette's target market is obviously men in their 20's to 50's, so if they're painting all men as evil, that makes the majority of their target demographic who are completely innocent of those things feel attacked and falsely accused. My immediate reaction was similar to this. I am disgusted at the thought of bullying or sexual harassment, but I became defensive as I saw myself thrown in with the "dirty laundry" when I wasn't guilty. I think Gillette made a mistake at painting the solid majority as the wicked few in hopes to make a groundbreaking claim to show they are "with the times" and actively seeking social justice. If all men are painted as evil, it allows the few that are truly evil to slip past in this haze of false accusations combated by the defense of one's character. What Gillette should have done is shown the good in men, like the other ad, and part of the good things that most me do is stopping other men from bullying or harassing. Another point that also caused controversy is that it was men who were painted as bullying, but there is a significant amount of girls who suffer from body shaming and cyber bullying on social media by other girls. So what this ad fails to do is see fallen humanity as to blame for the heinous acts of the few, not all men.

Holly C.

3/19/2019 12:59:19 am

I love the light that this blog sheds on the process of truly contemplating an ad in its entirety. This blog gave me a better perspective on the ad and better explained why my reaction was almost bitter to the ad. The day it was posted, all I saw were retweets and people saying that this was the ad they had been waiting for on Twitter, and given, I think that the reasoning is logical. However, I didn't agree with how the marketers and film crew decided to portray their message. Not all men are like this, and this is something I have fought to express to other people in my life time. Although there have been men that have done horrible things, we cannot let them define all men or set that standard. It's simply not fair. With that, I'm sure many Gillette customers felt extremely betrayed by them because of their overgeneralization. Don't get me wrong. I think that this topic deserves more appropriate conversation, but this portrayal disappointed me and turned people's minds to the wrong discussion. I truly believe that this was mindless marketing.

Zihao Wang

3/19/2019 02:33:19 am

It is very interesting to see how Gillette got some pushback from this particular ad. Even though the overall message about the ad is good, it represents guys in another light but still some people say that the company stereotypes men in general. I do think that the ad itself bears a positive message, it should be treated as such. However, there is some underlining stereotypes that are repeated in the ad, which i personally think should be removed.

Victoria Taylor

3/20/2019 11:05:51 pm

I also liked the commercial when I first saw it. After, you talked about how it stereotypes all men into one category, I can see why a lot of men do not like it. I agree with the statement that men need to keep men accountable, but like you said, that is something that they should be doing anyways. All people should be keeping each other accountable. I think that it is not a wise idea for companies to put out commercials that that tell people how to live their lives. It makes people feel like the company thinks that they are bad people that need improvement. And that is what happened with the Gillette ad. Thanks for the interesting post and for opening my eyes to the issue with this controversial ad.

Joseph Jang

11/5/2019 11:47:47 pm

This ad was fairly confusing, as it seems to be attacking "masculinity" in men who, I am fairly certain, are the majority of purchasers of Gillette goods. To attack and display distastefully the majority of your consumers seems to me to be very foolish marketing, as I don't see any makeup companies shaming teenage girls, or ice cream makers calling their consumers fat. It seems that Gillette wishes to show its consumers it is a modern entity, with more modern values, that considers many masculine characteristics of men to be unacceptable. This is as I said before, foolish as it aims to alienate its entire customer base.

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