The embattled and embittered American male is fighting back in protest to Gillette’s newest commercial. “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be” tackles issues of toxic masculinity and sexual harassment in the age of the #MeToo movement.
Photo Courtesy of CNN.com
The controversial advertisement has elicited a flurry of mixed responses. From users on Twitter praising the company for encouraging men to serve as better role models to critics condemning the campaign as “feminist propaganda,” some have threatened to boycott Gillette products.
“Gillette’s commercial was officious,” one man said, “by asserting authority where they don’t belong in an annoying and preachy way.”
“We expected debate,” Gillette’s North America Brand Director Pankaj Bhalla told CNN Business. “Actually, a discussion is necessary. If we don’t discuss and don’t talk about it, I don’t think real change will happen. It (the commercial) is about men taking more action every day to set the best example for the next generation.”
Photo courtesy of news.gillette.com
Although the campaign has been criticized for alienating its primary consumer base, surveys conducted by multiple sources show that the positive responses to the “We Believe” ad actually outweigh the negative. A majority of men surveyed noted that the values depicted in the commercial align with their own.