Gillette Scores an own goal

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drmoss_ca
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Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by drmoss_ca »

By posting a nasty advertisement that demeans all men as toxic, violent bullies.



They are getting it in the neck in the comments, and Dislikes are far outnumbering Likes, even though they are surreptitiously deleting Dislikes and adverse comments.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by Bill_K »

I had no idea that I was such a misogynistic bully. Thanks Gillette, I'll remember that when I buy shaving and grooming supplies. :x

Evidently the girls that beat up my daughter years ago are just "girls being girls" so that doesn't count. /s
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by ShadowsDad »

I would boycott them, except I have no use for anything they make and haven't bought anything of theirs for a VERY long time.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by Rufus »

Ye gods and little fishes; what will be next? Fortunately I have only 3 Mach3 cartridges left, so I’ll be able to switch brands soon enough if P&G/ Gillette doesn’t recant or I have a gene transplant. Unfortunately the ad is attracting a lot of attention, which is exactly what it wants.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by CMur12 »

I watched the ad twice, biased by Chris's statement of what he found obvious.

Though I think it is somewhat open to interpretation and generalization, I did not see what the rest of you are seeing. I saw an ad highlighting issues that have been around for a long time, only recently demanding widespread public consideration, and it called on all men to be part of the solution. I'm not offended by that.

I'm not saying that anyone is wrong. I'm just saying that I see it differently.

- Murray
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by ShadowsDad »

Murray, I'll try to explain why it's so insulting to many of us. It's because it portrays all men as stereotypical a-holes. It portrays behavior that most men abhor, but it blames each and every one of us. Then it shows 2 children rough housing on the lawn, both are laughing, and one of the men breaks it up. They weren't fighting just playing. It also shows a gent stopping another from approaching a woman. Really? How are women and men supposed to get together if one doesn't approach the other?

Men have traditionally been the peacemakers (by force if necessary) and the folks who keep the sheep at bay (:D Umm, that should be wolves, thanks Bill K), and fight the wars. What I see Gillette portraying is a pink underwear sort of man. It doesn't mean we need to be brutish and the worst we can be, but someone needs to have some intelligence about it and not call all men out for the behavior of a few. Most men already don't act the way the ad portrays. That's why it's so insulting to me. They could have thanked the majority of men for being kind and thoughtful, yada, yada, while still being men. That approach would have gotten the same message across while not indicting all of us for the behavior of a few.
Last edited by ShadowsDad on Wed Jan 16, 2019 11:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by Bill_K »

The point of Gillette's advertisement is laudable; however, the execution was botched.

Instead of emphasizing that as men we can stand up for what's right, it gives the impression that we are collectively engaging in (or condoning) bullying and misogynistic behavior. Gillette could have made this an inspirational advertisement, but the way it was presented, it left too much to interpretation as a slight on men in general.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by Rufus »

ShadowsDad wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:33 am Murray, I'll try to explain why it's so insulting to many of us. It's because it portrays all men as stereotypical a-holes. It portrays behavior that most men abhor, but it blames each and every one of us. Then it shows 2 children rough housing on the lawn, both are laughing, and one of the men breaks it up. They weren't fighting just playing. It also shows a gent stopping another from approaching a woman. Really? How are women and men supposed to get together if one doesn't approach the other?

Men have traditionally been the peacemakers (by force if necessary) and the folks who keep the sheep at bay, and fight the wars. What I see Gillette portraying is a pink underwear sort of man. It doesn't mean we need to be brutish and the worst we can be, but someone needs to have some intelligence about it and not call all men out for the behavior of a few. Most men already don't act the way the ad portrays. That's why it's so insulting to me. They could have thanked the majority of men for being kind and thoughtful, yada, yada, while still being men. That approach would have gotten the same message across while not indicting all of us for the behavior of a few.
Very well put. It’s stereotyping at its worst and deserves the scorn it is getting. No other group would put up with it; why should men?
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by brothers »

Sounds like a hypothetical statement given to a college class as an assignment for a term paper or something. I don't know any males of any age who will live or have lived their personal lives based on a shaving cream commercial. Somebody's obviously lost their minds.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by CMur12 »

ShadowsDad: "It's because it portrays all men as stereotypical a-holes. It portrays behavior that most men abhor, but it blames each and every one of us."

Brian, I didn't make this generalization. However, if many do, it will be a major miscalculation of communication and effect by P&G/Gillette.

Bill K: "The point of Gillette's advertisement is laudable; however, the execution was botched."

Bill, I think this is closer to the truth.

I try to determine the intent behind potentially offensive words or actions before I take offense. Sometimes intent is obvious; often it is not. I seriously doubt that the people at P&G/Gillette truly believe that all men are aggressive bullies, much less that the company would seek to convey such a message. I applaud them for stepping up to the plate and taking a moral stand on an important issue, rather than sticking to safer ads to sell their products. At this time, however, emotions are running high. There are a lot of angry women and many men feel under siege, so an ad of this nature would need to be approached very delicately. As it stands, I don't see it as a statement about all men and I think good points are made. Many won't see it as I do, however, and this may be a problem for the company.

- Murray
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by Gene »

Let's face it - we seem to be bombarded with the notion that men are not much more than buffoons. How many articles have been published in recent years denigrating men? How many TV shows depict men as dolts barely able to have any kind of rational thought?

We hear a lot about the "war on women" but I submit someone is waging a war on us!
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by drmoss_ca »

CMur12 wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 8:47 pm I seriously doubt that the people at P&G/Gillette truly believe that all men are aggressive bullies...
Agreed.
...much less that the company would seek to convey such a message.
"All publicity is good publicity". I don't doubt they were simply signalling how virtuous they are, perhaps to win back a few female customers who object to paying more for pink razors than blue ones. But there does seem to be a kind of 'last straw that broke the camel's back' flavour to the response. Men are told constantly these days by a segment of the population that they are troglodytes and hateful. Try to gather a group of men together to discuss their issues, be it suicide, prostate cancer, workplace injuries or custody issues, and you'll be picketed by by the blue-hair brigade. There is growing frustration with the situation.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by ShadowsDad »

:D I don't know if they are publicly owned, but if so, I'm glad I don't own any of their stock.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by adhoc »

This isn't the first time a large corporation -- and this time almost seemingly out of pure desperation -- advertise this kind of stuff, hoping to score some political points. I think this advertisement from Gillette fall in to that sort of category, a willingness to submit to the current political correct hegemony of todays society and they wasn't the first and for sure as hell wont be the last company to do so. I think the people over at Gillette felt like they had to cave in and produce this type of political nonsense and that to be honest, because of it being Gillette, that provokes me even more than if it just were another random political correct company doing the same thing. I have always admired Gillette -- since i began this little hobby of ours anyway -- and all their technological achievements they've accomplished over the years- I even have a framed poster of an old Gillette advertisement hanging on my wall. I will keep all my vintage Gillette razors but there's no way that I would purchase a any new products from them anymore. a

EDIT: I'm a bit drunk so sorry for all grammatical errors! ;)
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by John Rose »

I don't feel targeted by the ad, so I really don't care.
It will neither discourage me nor encourage me to by more Gillette products.
FWIW, I think they peaked with the Single-Ring Old. Or maybe the Aristocrat. Certainly nothing after the Super 109 is worth buying.
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Bill_K wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 8:18 am The point of Gillette's advertisement is laudable; however, the execution was botched.

Instead of emphasizing that as men we can stand up for what's right, it gives the impression that we are collectively engaging in (or condoning) bullying and misogynistic behavior. Gillette could have made this an inspirational advertisement, but the way it was presented, it left too much to interpretation as a slight on men in general.
That sounds about right.
It's because the majority of the public does not pay attention to ... uh ... words and stuff. They forgot about that.
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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by brothers »

John, if this is the Super 109 to which you have referred, then I agree whole-heartedly.
Gillette Super Adjustable short handle.jpg
Gillette Super Adjustable short handle.jpg (187.63 KiB) Viewed 4723 times
Gary

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Re: Gillette Scores an own goal

Post by Gareth »

The problem with things like this is that they actually don't help the cause they're intending. The behaviour Gillette depicts represents only a small sub-set of men that absolutely needs excising, but it certainly isn't representative of all or, in my experience most men. And actually, I think most men in the world do stand up to bullying, sexism and misogyny when they come across it.

Gillette should focus on making better razors rather than making populist political videos.
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