American razor company Gillette recently caused a stir with the debut of its new promotional campaign. Entitled “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be,” the video ad garnered over 896,000 dislikes, compared to just 465,000 likes, in its first four days on YouTube.
The one minute and 48-second video starts by depicting instances of toxic masculinity, including violence between school-aged boys and a televised act of groping. These vignettes are interwoven with the dismissive refrain of “boys will be boys.”
However, Gillette says they believe in the best of men, and the advertisement implores men “to act the right way; to say the right thing.” Actor Terry Crews, himself a past victim of sexual violence, is shown saying, “Men need to hold other men accountable.” The video ends with the message: “The boys watching today will be the men of tomorrow.”
Gillette is far from being a perfect company. In particular, their disposable razors are rather wasteful and pose a tangible risk to the environment. However, pertaining to this particular video, it’s difficult for me to pick out anything outlandish or offensive.
It is well within reason for Gillette to release a video commenting on the state of a demographic to which they cater. After all, if Gillette is responsible for making “the best a man can get,” then they should be able to publicly identify the men whom they feel most relate with their “best” products.
Of course, navigating the consumer media landscape is never that easy. Right-wing political pundit Candace Owens slammed the video as a symbol of “mainstream radicalized feminism” and accused it of perverting masculinity, while also calling for men to “let little boys wrestle.”
In similar fashion, James Woods, an actor and a devoted Republican, tweeted that Gillette had embraced “the ‘men are horrible’ campaign” and announced he would be boycotting the company’s products.
The advertisement takes aim at catcalling, objectification of the female body, unwanted groping, and fighting. Can’t we all agree these things are bad? And, if so, how can we justify the notion “boys will be boys” by taking part in these activities?
Gillette’s message boils down to the following: “Men, don’t be jerks, and if you see a guy being a jerk, call him out, because men have the capacity to be great.” Is that too much to ask for?
Sadly, that appears to be the case for many people. Just check out the YouTube like-to-dislike ratio, or the tweets of appalled ex-customers who have disposed of their razors in a fit of pique. “Not all of us!” cry the masses of outraged men, intent upon redeeming the marriage between X and Y chromosomes.
However, these individuals have fundamentally misunderstood Gillette’s point. Advertisements are pieces of mass media, intended to address a major swath of a target demographic.
Besides, the rate of males being sexually assaulted is half that of women, according to the government of Ontario. Of course, those men are more than just a statistic. But as a society, there is clearly a gendered discrepancy of risk. Men are atypical victims. At the end of the day, if men are feeling attacked by this ad, just imagine how women feel about the disproportionate number of unwanted sexual advances they face.
Gillette has taken aim at eradicating some of the last remaining archaic social norms. It isn’t okay to treat women like objects, it’s not cool to gang up on a kid at recess, and it’s definitely not funny to grope a woman.
If you disagree with that, well, your unkempt beard will pair nicely with your red hat.
