Boys will be boys?

Boys will be boys?

"Pathetic", "man-hating", "the current pathetic global assault on masculinity". There's a lot of commotion over the Gillete campagne. For years the slogan of the Gillette razor brand was "The best a man can get". A lot of men feel like their masculinity is threatened bij this ad. Gillette’s ads were always full of masculine men and with women that could not resist them. In their latest spot they ask themselves "Is this the best a person could get?"

“Thirty years ago, we launched our The Best A Man Can Get tagline.

Since then, it has been an aspirational statement, reflecting standards that many men strive to achieve.” -Gillette

In my opinion, Gillette deserves an award for this campagne. It addresses different topics like toxic masculinity and the #MeToo-movement. The ad challenges the stereotypical alpha man to improve his life. At the end of the commercial we see men who set a good example: they correct other men who whistle to women on the street and stop fighting between children.

“Bullying, the MeToo movement against sexual harassment, toxic masculinity, is this the best a man can get?”-Gillette

 
The Gillette ad does not only focus on stereotypical gender roles. It also subverts stereotypes which are racial and harmful. In the beginning of the video there is an African American man. It shows African American fathers supporting their daughters, protecting women from catcalling and educating other men about sexist behavior. Meanwhile, the men in the advertisement that represent the ‘toxic masculinity’, are mainly white. I love how the advertisement addresses different problems that we are having in this world.

“Our tagline needs to continue to inspire us all to be better every day, and to help create a new standard for boys to admire and for men to achieve… Because the boys of today are the men of tomorrow.”- Gillette

I also feel like Gillette did not make this campagne to show that they are against men, but against toxic masculinity. The fact that many men feel attacked by advertising is because they have the idea that all men are put away as perpetrators of violence and sexual abuse. Most men do not do this, of course, but we do live in a culture that approves and downsizes. Tackling men who are not male enough is normalized, so advertisement such as this should be seen as something good: the message is that all men are given the space not to live up to the standard.

“From today on, we pledge to actively challenge the stereotypes and expectations of what it means to be a man everywhere you see Gillette. In the ads we run, the images we publish to social media, the words we choose, and so much more.” - Gillette

Gillette is also following a trend by using these topics in their advertisement, just like Nike did last year by making a statement against racism and Trump with Colin Kaepernick in their advertisement. Which I think is also a very smart marketing move. By creating so much commotion around your brand and taking a risk like this, the sales can increase a lot too.

“We’ve all got work to do. And it starts today.”- Gillette

Wether you think the commercial sucked or that it was a success, Gillete for sure made a lot of publicity. In my opinion, the commotion over the spot only shows how much we need change in our society.