P&G’s Gillette has become the latest brand to bravely plunge itself into topical social debates, tackling the deep-rooted culture of toxic masculinity head on.
The brand’s latest short film, called Believe, replaced the brand’s famous slogan “The best a man can get” with “The best men can be”, in which it calls on men to hold each other accountable for their behaviors, BBC reports.
As every other action by a brand that joins a heated social debate, this one has polarized the online society, as many people took offence calling the ad “feminist propaganda”. On the other hand many people praised the brand for taking a stand, especially given the obvious risk of alienating a large portion of their users.
At the time of writing this article, the video was watched almost 5,5 million times in just two days since it was posted, but even more staggering is the like dislike ratio on it, 115,000 to 397,000, showing just how close to heart this message resonated with some.
The ad asks “Is this the best a man can get?” while showing images of bullying, sexual harassment, sexist behavior and aggressive male behavior, and then going on to show examples of more positive behavior, to illustrate how men can actually hold each other accountable for their behaviors and be a positive example for the younger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0
Comments on the video are largely negative as furious viewers wow to leave their favorite razor brand and call for an outright boycott.
Still, Gillette firmly stands behind their new campaign and say they believe in “the best in men”.
“By holding each other accountable, eliminating excuses for bad behaviour, and supporting a new generation working toward their personal ‘best,’ we can help create positive change that will matter for years to come,” said the company’s president, Gary Coombe amid the launch of the campaign.
“We knew that joining the dialogue on ‘Modern Manhood’ would mean changing how we think about and portray men at every turn. Effective immediately, Gillette will review all public-facing content against a set of defined standards meant to ensure we fully reflect the ideals of Respect, Accountability and Role Modelling in the ads we run, the images we publish to social media, the words we choose, and more. For us, the decision to publicly assert our beliefs while celebrating men who are doing things right was an easy choice that makes a difference,” Coombe added.
The ad was created by Grey New York, and directed by Kim Gehrig from Somesuch, who also directed the lauded This Girl Can campaign.
