If you’ve seen this commercial online yet, you’ve probably also seen the visceral reactions.
And there’s plenty of them.
First … here’s the commercial in question. It’s a Gillette commercial that, instead of promoting razor blades and shaving culture, it instead promotes a different idea.
Watch and see.
Okay.
Here’s my thoughts.
Gillette has a very powerful film here. And they’re taking a big chance here.
Already there’s been tremendous backlash against this film and against Gillette, arguing that the film promotes excessive political correctness and the “wussification” of men.
But I see it differently. I see it as a cry to take a stand when you do see your fellow person in distress. When you see bullying or sexual harassment, speak up and don’t remain silent, positing it as “locker room talk” or “boys will be boys” or “this will hurt but it will make you a man.”
Now here’s another question. Would Gillette ever run a commercial like this during the Super Bowl?
I say that because in the past, the Super Bowl has contained rare commercial broadcasts involving how to avoid domestic violence and how to address it if you see it. For example, this Super Bowl advert from 2015 completely shook me to the core.
Now back to Gillette. This isn’t the first commercial Gillette has crafted that didn’t involve disposable blades or “shave and you’ll have hot sexy women falling over you” culture. Take, for example, this commercial from late 2018 as a father teaches his young son how to thrive – even though the son is missing one hand. That son would later become Seattle Seahawks defensive star Shaquiem Griffin.
Now THAT commercial got me right in the feels.
Trust me, Gillette has made these types of “inspirational” commercials for years. Heck, even back in the 1980’s, you had Gillette commercials featuring the epitome of masculinity – success in sport, pride in a wedding, capturing the heart of that attractive brunette –
Of course, these “emotional” commercials are great for Gillette, but from what I can see … the real message that Gillette is trying to post to its product users is …
Just don’t be an asshole. Be a man, be someone who earns respect from both men and women. True masculinity isn’t being able to bully those who you feel hold values that differ from yours.
And you shouldn’t need a razor blade and shaving company to tell you this.
But hey … if the message gets across …
Then it works … right?
Chuck The Writer 
No problem with the message – common sense; and sad if it’s no longer instinctively taught at home.
I thought for a minute that my over-the-air tv reception had accidentally picked up the Hallmark Channel.
I’d rather see Gillette advertise a reduction in their outrageously-priced Sensor cartridges.
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My friend liked the ad: http://amerinz.blogspot.com/2019/01/a-companys-campaign-gets-it.html
Red State, of course, HATED it -The reason the commercial feels so insulting is only partly due to the false depiction of men, the exaggeration of behaviors some men exhibit and the panting it as a full-blown societal problem, or the labeling of some of the sexes natural tendencies as evil. The hatred for the ad has a lot to do with the idea that the good things we do as a sex can be attributed to an ideology that has always written men off as problematic, stupid, and dangerous, and is now heroically here to correct us. We hate it because it’s a virtue signal from these “holier than thou” modern-day Pharisees that men will continue to be a net negative on society without their guidance.
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As you said, Chuck, the message is don’t be an asshole. If you haven’t learned that by the time you reach kindergarten, chances are you will never learn it. There will always be some assholes out there, which is a shame, but it is also reality. All we can do individually is to “be the best we can be”. It’s too bad we need a razor company commercial to remind us of that.
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