This post was updated with social media statistics on January 16.
Gillette is taking on several important and difficult topics associated with “toxic masculinity.” The Procter & Gamble-owned razor brand revisited its 30-year-old tagline “The Best A Man Can Get” and modernizes the concept with a bit of purpose-driven marketing.
The company announced its new marketing campaign by launching an almost two-minute ad titled “We Believe” on YouTube. It features a compilation of men facing current issues, like the #metoo movement, along with traditional societal pressures of what it is to be a man.
“Gillette believes in the best in men,” said Gary Coombe, president of P&G global grooming in a press release. “By holding each other accountable, eliminating excuses for bad behavior and supporting a new generation working toward their personal ‘best,’ we can help create positive change that will matter for years to come.”
If you are a man who is upset about the Gillette commercial, you should smile more. You are so much prettier when you smile.
— John Lurie (@lurie_john) January 15, 2019
The spot shows men of different ages and ethnicities looking into a mirror as the sounds of various TV news reporters say “Bullying,” “The Me Too movement against sexual harassment,” “masculinity,” while the narrator poses the question “Is that the best a man can get?”
The commercial ends with a call to action, “It’s only by challenging ourselves to do more that we can get closer to our best. We are taking action at thebestmencanbe.org,” to encourage viewers to click on their mission website.
I've been using a men's Gillette razor since I was 14. Gillette was the first major company to hire me when I was kind of known as a risky little b for brands. I still use a gillette fusion razor and I still get so much joy from a fresh blade. in closing, I love you, Gillette.
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 16, 2019
Gillette is donating $1 million per year for the next three years to non-profit organizations creating U.S. programs to help men of all ages achieve their “best.” They want to promote and encourage respect between all walks of life, accountability for inappropriate behavior and groom role models for young boys to look up to. Their first partnership is the Boys and Girls Club of America.
“In our last decade of work on the theory of masculinity in modern America, we’ve sought to understand both the internal and external forces that shape men’s attitudes, beliefs and actions,” said Drs. William Seymour, Ramel Smith, and Hector Torres of the Building a Better Man Project in the release. “We’re honored to partner with Gillette as they seek to champion causes that can make a positive impact on men and boys.”
According to analytics company Talkwalker, as of 8:30 a.m. on January 16:
- Gillette has 1.5 million social media mentions since 1/14 compared to less than 10,000 for the same period last week
- 1.1 million of these mentions happened in the last 24 hours
- The hashtag #TheBestMenCanBe was used 187,400 times over that same period
- On Twitter, the brand’s original tweet has been shared over 167,000 times
- The video within the post has been viewed 19.7 million times
- Gillette’s YouTube video of the ad has been viewed 1.3 million times with 104,000 interactions
