Gillette releases new commercial aimed at toxic masculinity, gets roasted in response

Story.

Gillette released the above ad, which presents a statement for men to be better than in the past. It includes such clips as Terry Crews testifying about sexual assault and of men openly sexually harassing women.

However, the video touched a few nerves, since it is sitting at 10,000 likes and almost 100,000 dislikes as of the posting of this topic. Many of the comments in the video are not as positive as they may have been expecting.

Their Twitter account is getting a mix of negative and positive messages in response:

What do you think, is the reaction to the ad an overreaction or is Gillette virtue signaling like some of the complaints are stating?

Looks like the people have spoken.

Most companies that do this sort of thing probably don't care all that much, and I think they're mostly catering to a certain audience in an effort to get more $$$$.

People who use the term virtue signaling are automatically outing themselves as trolls and part of the problem to begin with. They are either insincere and trolling their statements to make themselves feel better or they are critics of the foregoing that mindlessly apply the tag to any expression of morals/values.

Either situation is pathetic as it detracts from the simple fact that people should be able to express their views in terms of morals and values, and there are times and places when that is fine and even admirable to do so.

If you are expressing those thoughts on morals/values primarily for the purpose of admiration, then you disgust me. Likewise if you automatically apply a filter to every time someone expresses a moral/value view that you disagree with as a means of auto -dismissing the view, then you also disgust me.

I am signaling that the discussion is debased by simpleton application of a pre-existing mindset at either end. In doing so, I am choosing to articulate a virtue that I will loosely call 'critical thought'. I do so because most posts from most people on this board disgust me, regardless of their political slant.

Also, to address the specific question it is massive overreaction. The alternative is to suggest that no company can ever address a value without auto-cynical characterization of the action. That is a lousy situation for any society.

Similarly, if this ad turns out to be a one and done action then Gillette will deserve the criticism.

We won't know until the future unfolds. However, Gillette has a long history of social causes. And it also has a few screw-ups along the way.

That was incredibly cringey.

At least there not trying to prostitute innocent fighter jets any-more.

I’m fine with this myself. While I can’t say for certain if Gillette truly feels this way but at the very least I think the message is sound and for me that’s the most important thing.

I do believe as men that we should do better. Too bad this video comes off as sexist by targeting men and not the human race.

That's just what you get with cultural marxism. Anchor one group to make another group look better. It's insanity.

Very confusing advert.

Are Gillette reformed?

The Gillette man is always the same butch guy with a haircut and a sexy wife.

It comes across a little contrived for a company which has personified male steriotypes in literally every advert its ever made prior.

It’s so clumsy.

I don't think Gillette should be so preachy if they still test on animals. But maybe they've stopped, anybody know? I haven't bought Gillette in years.

I think the commercial makes a good message. Hopefully the ad campaign goes beyond this lengthy advert though - maybe some magazine ads, an Internet promotion and shorter commercials.

I don't get why 10x's the amount of people would hate this commercial than appreciate it. Maybe the people in this world really are too far gone, or else the trolls really do have no lives if they sit and downvote shit forever.

Not even bother to pay attention to something like this. No matter what side you on is you still are troll, for or against does not matter. Too much people waste time on phone or media, and even as far as waste other people time when they bore of wasting their own. Very ignorant time we live in.

You're one to talk, talking about ignorance and you're arrogant to talk about whilst not even watching the ad.

I have no problem downvoting a sexist commercial and I don’t know how that by downvoting it is considered trolling.

That was actually surprisingly well done. When I first read the topic title I thought "Oh boy, here we go again" but they did a really good job presenting "the way things used to be" with "how they are going to be" and I thought it was a nice point to make.

It sort of capitalized on the whole message of "the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing", which is a good message to get across to people.

A lot of men will watch this and say "Hmmm I say/do/enjoy being like that" and will do one of two things; correct that behavior, or feel guilty then angry about it and lash out. I think the latter will be in greater numbers, but nonetheless if a few people do the former it will be a good change. People don't like being called out for things, even (especially?) when they are wrong and/or know they are wrong, which is probably why this has so many dislikes.

But whatever, no one said raising awareness was fun work. Kill the messenger, blah blah blah.

Yeah, I think if they did this but excluded their name/brand from it, made it more of an "anonymous" service, it would have been better.

But seeing as how their main demographic is men, I don't think creating this ad that alienates a lot of men is really all that money-conscious. I think they had some good intentions here. They see the way society is going and want to fight the good fight.

I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt; there have been a lot of ads in recent years that try to do this, but they all stink of "ulterior motive" far more than this ad did.

To be fair, there were women in the "live audience" laughing at the ass grabbing bit.

Also, maybe it focused on men being better (as you said we should be), instead of being sexist. There's a cynical way to look at this ad, and an open-minded way.

They literally addressed that by calling themselves out in the first 10 seconds by questioning their motto and playing the "the best a man can get" jingle. Not only that, but it's a theme of the commercial by showing instances of the "stereotypical male" in parody, the same male they used in advertising all these years.

Clearly they are trying to get away from their old image.

It's an incredibly self-aware and maybe even self-deprecating advertisement.

To be fair, there were women in the "live audience" laughing at the ass grabbing bit.

People in general don't like being lectured by preachy sanctimonious sources. Especially when it's a company using a bunch of carefully choreographed stereotypes latching onto a current trend.

Telling them to "piss off", is a natural reaction.

It's not bad but it's not complete. Women contribute to toxic masculinity too. Telling their sons boys don't cry, or that boys only play with certain toys or just play sports. Men can cry, they can dance ballet, and heck if they want they can play with Barbie. Human's as a species started to mess their children up when we started categorizing each other to a specific gender.

Gillette can preach whatever they want. It's their commercial (and their own money spent).

@GTR12:

Not ignorance just aware. Often time big corporation make conscious decision to start commotion in hope of people start to talk about brand. This is area in my age I choose to be aloof to. For me when I mature forms of psychology become very apparent. Nasty form a just sat “popai!” And then walk away from it. If this ad were to play every time I even look at my iPhone then I would be force to change my opinion on this because ad would be intruding on my life. So not being ignorant. ?

"The best a man can get" is not Gillette in terms of shaving.

As far as I'm aware nobody is saying they can't make it. They are just saying it's a poor commercial.

@Celsius765: Agree with this. Some women may also be held accountable for choosing men that display such behaviour. It's a form of positive reinforcement. I can't tell you how many people I've known who are unbelievably toxic, don't study towards their future, bully actively, objectify women, but some girls think that signals confidence or it's hot and they date them.

I have no problems with it, different strokes for different folks, but one can't do that then also claim that males are just systemically evil when women must have helped reinforce some of this behaviour.

Most commercials are poor or boring to me. Some of the nicer ones I liked were made by crooks.

Enzyte:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghrWz7cVXv8

True, most American adverts suck. It's that American "hope and dreams" cheese, I think. This horrible Gillette advert just being another symptom of that.

Ours tend to be more nihilistic in nature.

This just doesn't strike me as a Gillette commercial.

Yeah women can be pushing a toxic masculinity as well. I do think men (fathers in particular) will be most important to stop this toxic masculinity.

Instead of scoring political brownie points, Gillette should focus on improving their quality. I have had better shaves from generic store bought razors the last few years than Gillette.

Hah jokes on you Gillette. I don't shave anymore.

So, basically, being a man is sin and evil, and men need fixing. It obvious what they're trying to do, and it is not working. I think the bellow post perfectly demonstrates the issue

I shrugged. There are problems with men (and women), but the message of always bettering yourself is something that I don't think should be balked at. I admit it's weird to be preached to by a Gillette commercial, but hardly anything to ruin one's day. *shrug*

seems like a successful viral marketing campaign

THis seems pretty positive. Not sure I get the negative response.

Reminds me of Dove, which has always had super fit chicks in their commercials, started putting fatties in there because they all of a sudden became "body positive".

They give people actual great parenting advice and they get mad....

Dear god that was a horrible commercial, no wonder its getting such negativity thrown at it.

Yeah that was pretty cringey.

So, that was the ad???

Where was the shaving part? And there are people actually defending this. Okay...

So do I have to shave my pubes?

Yes

@vl4d_l3nin: the Dove advert was much better. They weren’t that fat and at least that advert didn’t assume I was a wife beater or general a-hole on account of negative gender stereotypes they helped to instil. That is machoism and patriarchal world view.

The idea of a commercial is typically to sell a fantasy. In Gillette's case, some James Bond GQ model with a woman enjoying how much better he looks, with fighter jets to show how technology advance your shaving kit is.

Instead we have a 1984 broadcast with you being presented as a bunch of dude-bros lined up a barbecue like their bad guys from revenge of the nerds, flashes of news on sexual assault -wtf and some authoritarian voice telling us about "the right thing".

I'm surprised you're surprised about the negative reaction.

What I'm surprised by is left-wing media and feminists and your usual lgbtq twiitter folk praising it.

It's literally took your struggles, and commercialized it, to sell... razors...

-

Kinda reminds of Robocop. Where OCP wants cops replaced, so they just get a brutally murdered one, rip his soul out and parade him round like a car while everyone claps.

Thankfully Murphy is actually Jesus.

@SUD123456: So if someone rightly or wrongly calls out something as virtue signalling, they are automatically a troll who is part of the problem?

Yeah, you're not a critical thinker. Sorry.

@warmblur: no

I guess my take is that you should kind of look inside of yourself and ask if you've been the best person you can be towards others after watching it. If I'm being perfectly honest, I realize I haven't now.

I get it, people don't want to be preached at, whatever, but would you rather we just keep ignoring the issues?

I will say, there still to this day isn't a whole lot being done to call out toxic females. I think it is a problem, but for the time being it's not really the focus because it's not as big of an issue as toxic males. Men are physically built tougher than women and can intimidate women and other men, so I get why we are the gender under the microscope right now.

Ugh. Those are snores too. I miss the Lee jeans commercials like this one. I always liked humorous commercials.

Or better yet, make their razors more affordable. Until then, Dollar Shave Club for me.

Gillette products are high as hell these days for what little I can get better razors for better price elsewhere.

Anti-SJW movement runs amok again. In the meantime, we complain about a commercial than we do MORE serious matters.

I really don't care. I don't understand why anyone (guessing some of you) care enough to downvote this. Bunch of oversensensitive ninnies on the web upset that a company is trying to adjust its image to get with the times. Of course they are doing it for money. Great detective work. Just like Microsoft and Sony are "for the gamers".

This is new? I see a similiary comemercial in Canada last year, not same... Similary