Gillette's advertising proves that the definition of a good man has changed

Once again, the the country seems divided. This time, it's not a border wall or a health care proposal that drives animation, but an online ad for a men's razor, because, of course. But under the controversy lies something much more important: signs of real change.

On January 13th, Gillette released a new ad taking up the company's slogan, "The best that a man can get", and makes it an introspective reflection on toxic masculinity, which is largely due to this cultural moment. . Entitled "We Believe," the nearly two-minute video features a diverse cast of bullied boys, teenagers watching media representatives of male chauvinist types objectifying women and men looking at each other. in the mirror as news of #MeToo and toxic masculinity spreads. l & # 39; background. A voiceover asks "Is this the best that a man can get?" The answer is no, and the film shows how men can do better by actively reporting toxic behaviors, intervening when other men engage in a cataclysm or badual harbadment, and helping to protect their children from bullies. . The announcement has exploded; Wednesday afternoon, it has been seen more than 12 million times on YouTube and #GilletteAd has tended to Twitter on the national level. Facebook's parents shared the YouTube link en mbade, many mentioning how the ad had made them cry.

And then, with perfect internet timing, the reaction came. Advertising played differently with men's rights advocates, Fox News and Piers Morgans of the world. People have shared videos and pics throw disposable razors in the toilet (it's not a good idea, they can not be thrown in the toilet). The men argued that the advertisement was anti-male, that it grouped all men into badists and that it denigrated traditional masculine qualities. But whatever the noise that surrounds it, the fact that it exists "We believe" is an undeniable sign of progress.

"Advertising is a reflection of society," says Henry Assael, professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business. They have also become an additional battlefield in the country's major cultural wars. Although some people are splurging on Twitter to never use Gillette again, Assael explains that it's hard to break the buying habits, especially those that are as usual as a razor. He believes that most people do not really realize their threat of giving up a brand in the face of such controversies. Take Nike and its commercials starring Colin Kaepernick last year: while urgent calls to boycott the company at the time, it has finally announced stronger growth than expected in its latest report on the results.

Gillette's advertising plays on the feeling that men currently want to be better, but do not necessarily know how. Last year, while Gillette was looking for market trends, as a result of #MeToo and a national conversation about the behavior of some of the most powerful men in the country, the company asked men about how to define the great man, according to Pankaj Bhalla, North American. brand manager for Gillette. The company has organized focus groups with men and women across the country, at home and through online surveys. What Bhalla says, the team has heard over and over again talking about men: "I know I'm not a bad guy. I am not that person. I know it, but what I do not know, is how can I be the best version of ourselves?

"And literally, we asked ourselves the same question as a brand. How can we be a better version of ourselves? Adds Bhalla. The answer is this advertising campaign and the promise to donate $ 1 million a year for three years to non-profit organizations that argue that boys and men are positive role models.

There is also more general evidence that the dominant concept of masculinity is evolving. Last summer, the American Psychological Association issued guidelines stating that "the ideology of traditional masculinity" can be harmful to both boys and men. When the media caught the attention of the media last week, they were the subject of much criticism from conservatives, who viewed them as an attack on long-standing male traits.

Since the #MeToo era in 2017, the question is: Will this change anything? Advertising can be a litmus test for where a culture is, sometimes imperfect but useful. Businesses run advertisements to earn money, so they would not knowingly risk adhering to beliefs that the majority hate. Advertising is not so much about creating a new desire as playing with what people already want.

"Advertising is about reading cultural trends, that's what they do," says Lisa Jacobson, a professor of history at the University of California at Santa Barbara, who focuses on the history of consumer culture. "They spend a lot of time reading culture, thinking about culture, grouping culture changes in a targeted way, to get to know them."

Gillette & # 39; s Bhalla acknowledges that the company would not have made this advertisement ten years ago. "The idea that" I'm not the bad guy but I do not know how to be a good guy ", this idea would not have appeared 10 years ago, because it was not in our mind. Was not in our society at the time, "he says.

Even today, Bhalla and his team knew that the announcement would not please everyone. An announcement dealing with such openly controversial ideas is fundamentally risky. It could turn on you and look crazy, as Kendall Jenner announced in Pepsi when he seemed to trivialize Black Lives Matter, and could alienate current and future customers. "We believe" has about 713,000 dislikes on YouTube.

At the same time, thousands of people are talking about online advertising and the campaign is widely covered by the media like this one. "It's a calculated gamble," Jacobson says. Even if Gillette loses some MRA activists, she is likely to attract more new customers than she will lose.

Daniel Pope, a historian who has written extensively on advertising in America, said that while this advertising clearly speaks to some of the concerns and desires of culture, it is a clbadically segmented or targeted advertisement. "Given the hostility that it has aroused in conservative and anti-feminist circles, [it’s clear] they do not appeal to everyone here. They are turning to a particular demographic group perhaps based on political beliefs, levels of education, feelings of gender equality.

Jacobson also notes that advertising tropes seem to play an explicit role for Millennials and Generation Z, the generations most committed to changing masculinity. The same goes for mothers who buy their first razors from their sons. Taking it to women is a wise choice, as women often make the majority of household purchases, and Pope notes that women are also a good percentage of Gillette's clientele. (Bhalla told WIRED that the gender distribution of Gillette's clients was 60-70% male, but this does not necessarily reflect the cases in which women buy products from men in their lives.)

Although Gillette did not say that right away, advertising also works as a sort of corporate prophylaxis against the claims of badism or insensitivity that many companies have been facing recently. Gillette is a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble, which sells many products for families and women in its other brand lines. "I have the impression that it was really a business decision," says Assael.

Gillette's old ads showed shaved men kissing women, sending the message that just shaving could win the girl. In 2013, the company launched a campaign called "Kiss and Tell", which asked couples to come forward before and after the shave and report back.

The company is not the only one to abandon advertising campaigns based on this type of message "women as an object and reward". In fact, it followed in the footsteps of Ax Body Spray, which was based for years on the idea that if you spray this product on women, they would run. In 2017, Axilever's parent company, Unilever, unveiled a new advertising campaign titled "It's Going For The Guys", which fought the idea of ​​toxic masculinity by explaining that it was normal that the men have emotions, are meager or do not like sport. Like Procter & Gamble, Unilever is home to many family brands and it may have been more appropriate than the Ax brand to sell stereotypical machismo.

It's not just the stereotypical gender roles that Gillette is trying to dismantle; it also undermines prejudicial racist stereotypes. The advertisement opens on an African American man who looks at his face in the mirror. It highlights the testimony of the American Congress of Terry Crews in which he pleaded for men to stand up and intervene in a toxic culture. He goes on to show African-American fathers supporting their daughters, educating other men about badist behavior and protecting women from behind the scenes.

"I think it's a subconscious reason that explains why this comes into the shoes of Piers Morgan and Fox and friends, "says Jacobson. This is because it is a reversal of an old story in which white supremacists or occasional racists attributed toxic masculinity to African-American men. "

She speaks of racist stereotypes that African-American men are exposed to criminal behavior such as badual badault or missing fathers. By showing black men who intervene to stop these behaviors – which advertising largely shows to be adopted by white men – she subtly rejects these harmful tropes.

This careful treatment of the breed is not necessarily the norm in advertising. According to Assael, the sector has been slow to embrace racial diversity and diversity even after the civil rights movement. Gillette's advertising has been treated with unusual caution.

Much of the response to Gillette's advertising has been positive. Overall, the media and advertising experts WIRED has met with have agreed that the ad was smart and as moving as an ad could hope to be. Although the negative reactions clearly show that cultural divisions persist in America, its very existence is proof that the old definitions of masculinity are changing.

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