Gillette is one of the best-selling and most innovative razor companies in the world, which has been around for over one-hundred years (Gillette). They pride themselves on being the best a man can get, and have become an established brand used by all types of individuals. The brand itself has put out a plethora of advertising campaigns, both digital and print, in their century-long run as a company. However, it has flown under the radar in terms of both controversy and ultimately remarkable or meaningful advertisements. As our society faces more and more social problems, it is vital that major corporations such as Gillette acknowledge them and aim to educate their customers on how to improve them.
In January of 2019 Gillette released a new advertising campaign, which they branded as a short film on their official Youtube channel titled “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be | Gillette (Short Film)” (Youtube, 2019). The advertising campaign targets toxic masculinity within our present society. It depicts the real-life problems and issues the world faces as a result of these perpetuated harmful gender roles. As well as portrays how, as humans, to improve ourselves, we must dismantle the beliefs included within these stereotypes. The narrative plot is established as males of all ages are seen participating in or observing a variety of common toxic behaviors. The plot progresses as other men are viewing these actions, and not only perpetuating them but encouraging them through sayings such as “Boys will be boys” displayed in Figure 1. The plot then reaches its climax when one man in each scenario takes a step in the right direction by discouraging the harmful stereotype being portrayed, and reinforcing good and beneficial behavior for the younger men to practice in the future. The advertisement itself reaches a resolution, as these common toxic behaviors have all been disparaged in their own scenario. It then concludes with how toxic masculinity within men can begin to become dismantled and how the world is moving in the right direction in terms of this issue, as seen in Figures 2 and 3.
Unlike most traditional advertising campaigns, The Best a Man Can Be, establishes a concrete narrative, including a distinct beginning, middle, and end. As the ad progresses through depicting the harmful behaviors exhibited by men, individuals stepping forward to dismantle these behaviors, and finally resolution occurs as the men of tomorrow learn what behaviors to perpetuate as they grow up and the cycle continues. These story-like narrative elements evident throughout the advertisement allow it to be interpreted as a short film, as it is labelled regardless of its commercial formatting and length. The narrative present throughout the advertisement targets a broader issue, rather than focusing on the arc and story of a single individual. This is evident as the narration covers a variety of different scenarios from the perspectives of multiple different men. As the narrative vocals are in the third person, the message being conveyed is able to reach a variety of individuals rather than being constrained to more specific individuals (Porter, 2008). This narrative choice by those developing the ad was strategic, as it allows for the advertisement to harness maximum reach and relatability worldwide.
Gillette was successful in creating an advertisement in which a narrative and impactful message are present while keeping it within time constraints to air on any major television network, contributing to its aforementioned reach. Upon first glance, the advertisement itself, which runs just under two minutes, appears to be free of ethical issues within its storytelling as it places emphasis on the improvement of members of society’s behaviors, which would ultimately benefit all individuals. However, just hours following the launch of the advertisement, men began interpreting it as an attack on their entire gender. Some of the public felt that the ad scrutinized all males behaviors rather than solely the toxic and misogynistic ones which advertisement explicitly displayed. It was when the ad was published on Youtube that its controversy became far more expansive and apparent. As of March 2020, the video has amassed over thirty-three million views and has over one million dislikes (Youtube, 2019). The comment section is filled with men expressing their disdain for the company as a whole. The controversy surrounding the ad led to a social media trend where thousands of individuals documented themselves, throwing away their Gillette products, and vowing to never buy from the brand again. Men attempted to question the ethics regarding this entire advertising campaign and tried to identify themselves as a vulnerable group (Woyzbun, 2020). However, in comparison to actual vulnerable groups, like children and marginalized individuals, the judgment of the men questioning the campaign became questioned by others due to the privilege men possess in our present society.
Although the short film-type advertisement sparked a significant amount of controversy, it popularized the importance of exploring real-world issues within narrative-focused advertisements, which many brands followed (Dreyfuss, 2019). The company itself may have lost many long-time customers due to their interpretation of the advertising campaign, but became recognized as a brand striving for change in society. Gillette also pledged to make annual donations to non-profit organizations with programs intended to help men, of all ages, “become role models for the next generation” (Lyons et al., 2019). As this advertisement was a significant topic of discussion in society, it made an impact on its viewers, and it is evident that the overall notion of traditional masculinity has begun to evolve. Through an advertising campaign that takes viewers on a narrated journey depicting problematic behaviors and advocating for change, Gillette establishes itself as one of few socially aware corporations that care about their customer’s well-being. To truly make meaningful and profound changes in society, all corporations much strive to acknowledge and target social issues throughout their digital storytelling efforts, and only then will potential change truly occur.