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Gillette's 'We Believe' ad receives mixed feedback

15 Jan 2019

NEWSWATCH: In response to the #MeToo movement, Gillette has released an ad called 'We Believe' that plays on its 30-year old tagline, 'Best a Man Can Get' as a call for men to hold each other accountable and to lead a better example for the 'men of tomorrow' to help put an end to 'toxic masculinity', such as bullying, sexism and sexual harassment.

The Procter & Gamble company has received much backlash on social media, following its tweet on Monday, 14 January:

“Boys will be boys”? Isn’t it time we stopped excusing bad behavior? Re-think and take action by joining us at https://t.co/giHuGDEvlT. #TheBestMenCanBe pic.twitter.com/hhBL1XjFVo
— Gillette (@Gillette) January 14, 2019

Many have threatened to boycott the brand and are accusing it of insulting its own user base.

I've used @Gillette razors my entire adult life but this absurd virtue-signalling PC guff may drive me away to a company less eager to fuel the current pathetic global assault on masculinity.
Let boys be damn boys.
Let men be damn men. https://t.co/Hm66OD5lA4
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 14, 2019

the only ones lauding the Gillette ad work in media/advertising. everyone else sees it for what it is: a smarmy, condescending virtue signal aimed at the hardworking decent men they been price-gouging for years.
— GregGutfeld (@greggutfeld) January 15, 2019

Look @gillette, I know your heart is in the right place.
But there's a line.
And that line is where my razor blades start issuing me moral instruction.https://t.co/W5QbNIIKSS
— John Noonan (@noonanjo) January 14, 2019

However, the response has been mixed, as the ad has also received some positive feedback.

.@Gillette's new campaign thoughtfully and critically examines what "The Best a Man Can Get," the brand's iconic tagline, means today. A must watch. https://t.co/5WKmfferhl
— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) January 15, 2019

Once again, I'm very much okay with this shift in cultural standards.
"Be a good human" is getting ever-more commercially viable. I'm down with a future where it's cool to be protective and proactive at making the world better. https://t.co/iYsGxBQ9QF
— Mika McKinnon (@mikamckinnon) January 14, 2019

The comments under the @Gillette toxic masculinity ad is a living document of how desperately society needs things like the Gillette toxic masculinity ad.
Seriously: if your masculinity is THAT threatened by an ad that says we should be nicer then you're doing masculinity wrong.
— Andrew P Street (@AndrewPStreet) January 15, 2019

Exploitative? Maybe. Brave and timely? Absolutely. Also, I cried. Well done, @Gillette. #foroursons https://t.co/4hYNcgsxoX
— Emily Andras (@emtothea) January 15, 2019

According to the Daily Mail, the majority of those who spoke out against the ad are men’s rights activists and some took issue with the fact that the shaving brand's ad was directed by a 'feminist' woman.

Pankaj Bhalla, Gillette’s brand director for North America, said in a statement that the company felt “compelled” to address “an important conversation”.

We are taking a realistic look at what’s happening today, and aiming to inspire change by acknowledging that the old saying ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ is not an excuse. We want to hold ourselves to a higher standard, and hope all the men we serve will come along on that journey to find our ‘best’ together.

Gary Coombe, president of Proctor & Gamble’s global grooming business, added that the company hopes to help “deliver positive change that will matter for years to come”.

“We knew that joining the dialogue on ‘modern manhood’ would mean changing how we think about and portray men at every turn.”