After Gillette unveiled its latest ad aimed at inspiring men to step up as better role models for young boys regarding how to treat women and other men, some far-right loons decided being told to “be the best a man can be” was too tall an order.
It’s not unusual for Proctor & Gamble, Gillette’s parent company to advocate on social issues.
Last year, P&G won an Emmy Award for “The Talk,” an ad that featured African-American parents discussing racism with their children.
And other companies have found success wading into social issues.
Last year, Nike put former NLF quarterback Colin Kaepernick front and center for the 30th anniversary of their “Just Do It” campaign. The ad spot was targeted at Nike’s prime demographic – younger customers who tend to believe in social justice.
The gamble paid off. While there were some early grumbles on social media, Nike’s CEO, Mark Parker, shared with analysts in September, “We’ve seen record engagement with the brand as part of the campaign.”
Even Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Bernice King, gave the new Gillette ad a thumbs-up.
“This commercial isn’t anti-male,” tweeted the civil rights advocate. “It’s pro-humanity. And it demonstrates that character can step up to change conditions.”
However, some men, who apparently don’t like to be told to stop assaulting women or bullying gay men, are now proposing a boycott of the men’s product company.
Goodbye Gillette. Hello Schick #GilletteAd pic.twitter.com/AfcFE5efNq
— warroom (@warroom) January 15, 2019
You showed them
— colinV (@cvohlken) January 15, 2019
And then there’s self-important UK TV personality Piers Morgan, who has his own history of homophobic and transphobic snark. Morgan claims he spends “$1000s” on Gillette products each year, and his takeaway from the ad was that Gillette “wants every man to take one of their razors & cut off his testicles.” What the hell…?
I spend $1000s a year on @Gillette products. They need me, just as they need all their male customers they just threw under the PC bus. https://t.co/QryHSh0YEs
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 15, 2019
It seems to this writer that if you are a man who treats women and men with respect, there’s really nothing to get upset about, is there?
In any case, lots of level-headed, clear-minded folks have clapped back at the fragile snowflakes.
Out Olympian Gus Kenworthy had a perfectly direct response to the triggered trolls, tweeting, “To anyone who was offended by the Gillette ad that simply implored me not to sexually assault or harass women: f*ck you!”
To anyone who was offended by the @Gillette ad that simply implored men not to sexually assault or harass women: fuck you!
— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) January 16, 2019
Bravo, Gus! And there were many, many more who weighed in on the absurdity of the criticism.
If that @Gillette ad made you feel bad you’re why they made it.
— Randy Bryce (@IronStache) January 16, 2019
I’m so offended by Gillette’s blatant attack on masculinity that I may start shaving my legs with Bic.
— Randy Rainbow (@RandyRainbow) January 16, 2019
I don't understand where all the hate for the #GilletteAd is coming from? It's just saying don't be an asshole and treat EVERYONE with respect. Great job @Gillette
— Mak (@pinkypromiseme_) January 16, 2019
That Gillette ad doesn’t wage war on men, it simply challenges men not to bully, catcall, grope or assault anybody. How is that controversial? Interesting to see conservatives, who weaponized Al Franken and Harvey Weinstein for political purposes, feign outrage over this message.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) January 15, 2019
I like how a small minority of people are getting mad at the Gillette ad and now want boycott them. I watched the ad and went about my day like most people. I don't care what razor you shave them nutz with fam. If you hate the ad they are talking about you.#gilletteboycott pic.twitter.com/243N2IvPmH
— Erick Feiling (@erick_feiling) January 16, 2019
gillette: hey, men, some of us could do better
the men that could be doing better: pic.twitter.com/MZHmAnAQsL
— poetic kate (@poetickate) January 16, 2019
Seriously though
Why are people mad at the Gillette commercial?— Miguel Alvarez (@mighunglow) January 16, 2019
Ok I heard this ad was shit, but it's really not that bad. It's literally just an ad telling scummy shit bags to stop being scummy shit bags, nothing overly feminist, not any real leftist propaganda
— Arturo Romero (@arjrome96) January 16, 2019
Alright ladies, we’re using GILLETTE razors now. Support the brands that support us https://t.co/ePbdbJZOve
— Kate Moore (@kdmoore1998) January 16, 2019
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not represent the positions of Instinct Magazine or its other contributors.
If Kenworthy thinks that ad
If Kenworthy thinks that ad is okay then he probably doesn't understand why African-Americans find minstrel shows offensive.
Pointing out inappropriate
Pointing out inappropriate behavior of men against others as the Gillette has no correlation to racist degrading plays written by whites ignorant of another race.
We all know that men can be shite. When someone says hey, look, men can be crappy, sexist, bullies, you all have a problem with that? Too in your face? Well, we better not share any more hate crime news of straight men beating up on gay men. We might be told it's all a lie. men can't do that. It's like none of you have been ever picked upon before in your life. Let's go back and delete the #metoo movement while we're at it. None of that was real or could happen.
Fortunately the majority of
Fortunately the majority of the public seems to disagree with you, and know that being white and male are not inherently bad things. And know there's something wrong with a toiletry company being so sanctimonious as to condemn and then say…"but buy our products."
A majority of the public? Was
A majority of the public? Was there a survey done of the public and it came back saying most hated this ad? Squeaky wheel gets the grease. Complaints are heard louder than praise. Most people I have talked to etc., loved the ad and realize that people that are complaining about the ad just don;t understand the issue and how big it is. Squeak squeak.
Go read the feedback to this
Go read the feedback to this ad on YouTube. Just one example that makes my case.
If no one swipes right on
If no one swipes right on your Tinder profile does that mean the majority of society dislikes how RTE_66 looks? Apparently. Basing societal perspective on what people who log in and know how to up or down vote on YouTube is poor statistics.
BTW : As of this writing, on
BTW : As of this writing, on YouTube this ad has 18 million views. 498K upvotes. 937K downvotes.
BTW : I’ve never seen white
BTW : I've never seen white straight men standing in a line at a barbecue monotonously repeating "Boys will be boys" as another boy is pummelled by bullies. That's the minstrel show here. A grotesque, hostile, and hateful portrayal that has nothing to do with reality. If they wanted to truly focus on toxic masculinity they would have shown gangsta rappers going on about bitches and hos or Muslim men forcing female castration on young girls, not the suburban barbecue Americana crowd.
For your stretch of a
For your stretch of a minstrel analogy to be valid, wouldn't the boys fighting on the ground in front of the white men have to be black? There's no minstrel show here. And look, another chance to show your hatred against Muslims. Was waiting for you to work that into your argument. So predictable.
As for your desired "focus", this ad was about men treating women AND other men poorly. Sorry, that they didn't delve into race as much as you wanted to.
The new minstrel show is
The new minstrel show is against white males. And my hatred of Muslims (as a gay man) is a sensible and logical thing, no matter how much you try to hide it when you post on what's going on in Chechnya.
You are justifying your
You are justifying your blanket hatred of Muslims based on Chechnya. Gotcha.