Carpentered by Grey Advertising for Proctor and Gamble's razors company, it does not detail product attributes, encourage brand loyalty, instill warm feelings in buyers, or even show basic respect for consumers. Instead, the grimly lecturing spot declares masculinity itself toxic, a peril to decent society.
"Is this the best a man can get? Is it?" asks the painfully serious narrator, as a wrongdoing slideshow passes by. "We can't hide from it. It's been going on far too long. We can't laugh it off, making the same old excuses."
"I guess the guy at the ad agency missed the lesson about not taking a dump on the people you want to buy your stuff," cracked comedian Steven Crowder.
"The guy at the ad agency" is actually philosophically unpleasant feminist Kim Gehrig. Hiring her to court the male market is like expecting to accrue impressive rainbow flag sale numbers with spiels from Farrakhan.
Jezebel reported an email message Gehrig sent CNBC: "At the end of the day, sparking conversation is what matters. This gets people to pay attention to the topic and encourages them to consider taking action to make a difference."
She'd previously made the bizarre "Viva La Vulva" spot for Swedish feminine hygiene company Libresse. In that surreal ad, objects that included a conch shell, sliced orange, papaya, and coin purse stood in as ersatz female intimate parts. For the ad's nearly three-minute duration, these items were manipulated as unnatural "singers" of Camille Yarbrough's "Take Yo Praise."
Gehrig's new Gillette effort states her bias boldly by intercutting allusions to abusive acts with images of romantic heterosexuality.
A black-and-white cartoon scene that flashes past shows men whistling at a woman. In another scant bit, a guy sees a pretty female pedestrian. He steps after her but is restrained by a companion. "Not cool," the restrainer admonishes.
Expressions of attraction and related pursuits are natural. They lead to humans reproducing - which is how Gehrig got here, though she might be horrified to learn that.
Adweek pronounced Gehrig's group libel the "Ad of the Week." Gehrig's efforts were also recognized by Best Ads on TV.
Therein lies an issue worth note. Fox News host Greg Gutfeld tweeted: "the only ones lauding the Gillette ad work in media/advertising. everyone else sees it for what it is: a smarmy, condescending virtue signal aimed at the hardworking decent men they have been price-gouging for years."
At this writing, Gillette's YouTube posting of "We Believe" has received 40,000 "thumbs down" votes and only 4,300 positive ratings. Even when possible manipulations have been allowed for, that ratio does not bode well for the company.
Gillette executives may have hoped their brand would realize market uplift from public mind association with trendy messaging. That may also once have been the wish of suits at Dodge, the NFL, Target, Lynx, Nike, PepsiCo, and Dick's Sporting Goods. They all suffered as a consequence of catering to P.C. prejudices.
The greatest ultimate harm caused by Gehrig's Gillette advertising maliciousness may be this: irresponsible,"woke" parents bludgeoning their young sons with her message that just being a boy is unhealthy, a wrong for which they should forever hang their heads.
Poor kids.
Reader Comments
You can change attitudes in those at a psychological threshold of readiness through exposing them to alternatives. Movies, TV, and the behavior of respected role models, are effective vectors. Nothing good ever happens as a result of shame and punishment. When, I wonder, will people begin to figure this out?
I wonder if these grimly-authoritarian social reconstructionists are attempting to relive their glory days in the Inquisition. Since the Catholic Church isn't a good enough vector for their ambitions any longer, I guess it makes sense that they would be targeting media and laws.