The new Gillette advertisement, released on January 14 of this year, is an addition to the company's long line of socially conscious advertisements.
Proctor & Gamble, Gillette's parent company since 2005, has a long history of producing advertisements focused on addressing social issues rather than selling products. Other campaigns include the Always "Like A Girl" campaign and Pantene's "Strong Is Beautiful".
"We Believe," the title of Gillette's 2019 advertisement, tackles an important discussion regardless of how difficult the pill may be to swallow. Tackling the issue of sexual harassment, bullying, and toxic masculinity was never going to be easy, but it was always going to be necessary. The advertisement questions if this is what men really want to live up to, by asking "Is this the best a man can get?" and closing with "something has finally changed."
Change is around the corner and the advertisement provides a platform for the men silenced and pushed aside for already doing the right thing. It ends with scenes of men standing up for women, breaking up unnecessary fights, and being attentive fathers.
Today's boys are tomorrow's men. Change can only start with today's men.
The 2019 Gillette advertisement connects with younger consumers looking for companies with similar beliefs, in the era of "woke" advertising. It provides a glimpse into the future of advertising as companies realize consumers want to see them take strong stands on current social and political issues.
Yet, the unending backlash to this campaign is the most interesting part of its release.
Although the advertisement is difficult to take in, especially if you are a man and don't believe these issues are real, it brings forward the societal issues we need to address and the conversations we need to have. Most of the backlash has focused on how the advertisement is an assault on masculinity.
Other negative reactions claim the company is trying to stay relevant by "jumping on the 'men are horrible' campaign," according to James Woods, or reflecting false positions because "men are the wilder sex, which accounts for the dangerousness but also their dynamism," according to The New American.
No, this is not what the advertisement and the campaign as a whole are doing. It is doing the opposite. Gillette is trying to change the dialogue about toxic masculinity and what it means to be a man today.
I think Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King put it best, saying "this commercial isn't anti-male. It's pro-humanity and it demonstrates that character can step up to change conditions."
Gillette is acknowledging its role in creating the problem of toxic masculinity, but if they can do it then so can men. The company has successfully engaged with the #MeToo movement and has evolved from "the best a man can get" to "the best men can be."