Hack job: Gillette tries to teach men ‘social justice’, meets massive online backlash
Gillette is learning most people don’t want moral lessons from their razors after experiencing a colossal backlash against an ad they ran condemning “toxic masculinity.”
As of Monday evening, the clip had over 122,000 dislikes and counting on YouTube (a 1:10 like:dislike ratio), with negative comments accumulating faster than they can be removed.
Featuring the tagline “The best men can be,” the clip presents a litany of negative stereotypes of male behaviors while a voiceover emphasizes that “we can’t laugh it off, making the same excuses.” Then, after shaming men by lumping them all with the worst of their sex and displaying reenactments of their transgressions against women and bullied children, the video shows a man stand up for a passing woman’s virtue – and trigger a torrent of progressive interference by his previously passive fellow males.
Also on rt.com Toxic masculinity: American Psychological Association says it’s bad to be a manThe mockery was swift and merciless.
Ahahaha pic.twitter.com/cyadgIBxWz
— Stepchu (@Syenca) January 14, 2019
Honest to gods, I came here to say nearly the same. Give me a sharp instrument to shave my beard, not to cut my balls off. #BoycottGillette
— Ejder Memis (@_sHx_) January 15, 2019
Gillette's new market pic.twitter.com/Pmaw2Y4bS0
— Brian G (@dogbackwards_) January 14, 2019
Woke Gillette comment section winner right here. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/i1qIJCtwfa
— Dataracer (@Dataracer117) January 15, 2019
Although some tried to criticize more constructively.
It is undeniable that all humans should always strive to better themselves; to be more inquisitive; kinder; less violent; less envious; more cooperative, etc. However, human frailties are not restricted to one sex. Please stop pathologizing the "disease" of being male. @Gillettehttps://t.co/CAxGadDiD6
— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) January 14, 2019
Gillette is “aiming to inspire change by acknowledging that the old saying ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ is not an excuse,” Gillette’s North American brand director Pankaj Bhalla told the Wall Street Journal. “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.”
Because there’s nothing men want more from their razors than a meaningful life journey.
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
Men weren’t the only ones put off.
As the mother of a twenty something son, I am beyond tired of men being made out to be villains. I never once was unable to say no, unable to be heard or progress in my field because of men. #wokegobroke
— KariB57 (@Karin89783044) January 14, 2019
I am a woman who uses Gillette razors and this even bothers me. https://t.co/scHGQdCpgJ
— Ashley Rae Goldenberg (@Communism_Kills) January 14, 2019
Holy guacamole is this a hundred times worse than I anticipated. Conflating toddler boys innocently roughhousing with Terry Crews & actual women experiencing sexual assault isn’t woke. It’s somehow misandrist & misogynist at the same time. https://t.co/RYZ9QDD3gS
— Tiana Lowe (@TianaTheFirst) January 14, 2019
Some questioned Gillette's business acumen.
Huge congratulations to #Gillette's advertising company & marketing department.It takes a bucket load of liberal talent to tank a brand with a preachy, smarmy, anti-man ad while trying to sell men razor blades.Way to spend several million bucks, #Gillette...
— Paddy Manning ن (@PaddyJManning) January 14, 2019
Going to keep an eye on @Gillette's stock prices over the coming weeks. This is going to be brutal. What an insulting and disgusting ad.
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) January 14, 2019
Yes. All men are horrible predators, unless they meet an acceptable liberal stereotype. And I’m sure those are the only folks you want investing in P&G. #WishGranted
— Michael Pritt (@TheeMikePritt) January 15, 2019
Gillette had its defenders, of course, but they were few and far between.
Gillette released a new ad called "The Best That Men Can Be" about the impact that seeing men doing the right thing can have on young boys... I have never seen a YouTube comments section more filled with whining man babies. pic.twitter.com/jeGkG8ZM6m
— Alex Anastassiou (@alexanasta_) January 14, 2019
The top Youtube comment 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/EsjgDlIdFi
— Radio_Engel (@RadioEngel) January 14, 2019
Ironically, the ad’s director Kim Gehrig was chosen through Gillette parent company Procter & Gamble's partnership with Free the Bid, a program launched to increase female representation among ad directors.
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