Remember when companies just made products and had ads that explained why you should buy their product because it was the best? Sure, there might be a catchy song or a memorable catchphrase (where’s the beef?!) but at the end of the commercial, you understood it was the product they were trying to sell you.
Not an idea.
Not virtue-signaling.
Not a narrative.
Take this crap from Gillette for example:
"Boys will be boys"? Isn’t it time we stopped excusing bad behavior? Re-think and take action by joining us at https://t.co/giHuGDEvlT. #TheBestMenCanBe
— Gillette (@Gillette) January 11, 2019
WTF, Gillette? Boys will be boys.
This ain’t rocket science.
Oh, and we went to their organization page to see what exactly they’re pushing so you wouldn’t have to.
You’re welcome.
From TheBestMenCanBe.org:
It’s time we acknowledge that brands, like ours, play a role in influencing culture. And as a company that encourages men to be their best, we have a responsibility to make sure we are promoting positive, attainable, inclusive and healthy versions of what it means to be a man. With that in mind, we have spent the last few months taking a hard look at our past and coming communication and reflecting on the types of men and behaviors we want to celebrate. We’re inviting all men along this journey with us – to strive to be better, to make us better, and to help each other be better.
From today on, we pledge to actively challenge the stereotypes and expectations of what it means to be a man everywhere you see Gillette. In the ads we run, the images we publish to social media, the words we choose, and so much more.
As part of The Best Men Can Be campaign, Gillette is committing to donate $1 million per year for the next three years to non-profit organizations executing programs in the United States designed to inspire, educate and help men of all ages achieve their personal “best” and become role models for the next generation.
Alrighty then.
Wonder how this is going over with men?
— Sean Bannion (@SeanBannion) January 14, 2019
Blow it out your barracks bag.
— Tex Lovera (@texlovera) January 14, 2019
Pretty sure someone telling them to blow it out their barracks bag isn’t a good thing.
Maybe you should worry about lowering the ridiculous cost of your wildly overpriced razors. I haven't missed them.
— John Doiron and 437 others (@jfd1965) January 14, 2019
— The Ugly American (@TUASondrakistan) January 14, 2019
— Patrick (@batman1793) January 14, 2019
Moved to Dollar Shave Club years ago. Good razors , excellent price, funny emails, no lectures
— OffendedHooper (@geriatrichooper) January 14, 2019
Keep your woke takes to yourself and concentrate on selling razors. Nobody with any sense looks to agenda driven corporations for social commentaries. Plus it’s great to see a TYT clip in your advert. That’s not a total biased network (said sarcastically). pic.twitter.com/DmbhiFbcbO
— Trevor O' Dwyer (@TrevorODwyer1) January 14, 2019
Wow, Gillette, this is going SUPER well so far.
Good luck with that.
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