Gillette's Sexist Sermonizing to Men and Women

Townhall.com ^ | January 18, 2019 | Brent Bozell and Tim Graham

[Kaslin]

So who is the mastermind at Gillette who came up with the idea that the best way to sell men's razors is to insult the customers with condescending liberal propaganda about "toxic masculinity"? Is pandering to the perpetually angry feminists in the media the way to grab positive "news" coverage? Is online buzz the goal? If so, it must also be Gillette's goal to have its customers rush over to the Schick display.

A century ago, Gillette ran ads in newspapers touting American soldiers of World War I using their product: the "clean fighters" of the Allied forces "fighting for clean ideals." They were "millions of big, strong-limbed super-men ... fighting to save Freedom." Today, there are no strong-limbed men. There are bullies and sexual harassers in need of castration.

Go ahead; try to tell us we're exaggerating. NPR's Tovia Smith lovingly introduced Gillette's latest ad campaign saying, "The first half of the ad portrays males as boorish, sexually harassing women, mansplaining and bullying."

The ad insists on Social Change. The narrator proclaims: "We can't hide from it. ... We can't laugh it off, making the same old excuses. ... And there will be no going back." A long row of apparently loathsome backyard dads stands in front of a long row of smoking charcoal grills, and the dads echo the excuse "Boys will be boys."

Because somehow, in the last century, troglodyte men were bullies who never stopped bullies and never taught their boys to respect women (including their mothers? and sisters?). This isn't selling razors. It's selling an obnoxious, boorish political cartoon.

Gillette would protest that the ad says "some" men, not all men, are awful. But it is mansplaining to all men, assuming they are all dim and in need of an education. So it's comical that after these insults about male stereotypes, the website dedicated to this ad campaign insists, "From today on, we pledge to actively challenge the stereotypes and expectations of what it means to be a man everywhere you see Gillette."

All you need are re-education camps. Big Brother, call your office.

NPR loved it. Smith wrote, "Call it a new kind of corporate machismo, volunteering to march bravely ahead into the culture wars." This may be the only time in NPR's history that it has applauded "machismo."

For grins, try to imagine Gillette marketing its Venus line of razors to women in this way. Imagine the reaction if these geniuses were to run an ad against "toxic femininity," saying the time is over for women gossiping and bullying women. NPR would go into spasmodic convulsions. The bra burners would take to the streets. Women are presumed to be the victimized gender -- oppressed by men (yuk!), not poisoned by testosterone.

The contrast of the men's ad with a Gillette Venus ad from October is amazing. The narrator actually says: "It's time to do things a new way -- your way, without conforming to conventions so that your skin writes the rules. Because no one gets an opinion on how you live your life, or why you shave." Yet more political sermonizing, and now the polar opposite of Gillette's male-bashing campaign!

The ad goes on to brag about how these ads are made by a "female-led team" with women behind and in front of the camera. "We're celebrating every woman and her skin," the narrator says. Celebrating "every woman"? These women are even celebrating the bullies? Well, their skin "writes the rules," apparently.

There's a word for these ad campaigns: vomit. Go buy a Schick, where men are men; women are women; and all they want is a shave.

[Castigar]

When I saw this ad I signed up for Harry’s. I really did! Did you notice that in every instance where a white male was going to do something that was “toxically masculine” a black guy stopped him?

Did you notice that the literally unending line of grillers was all white?

I will never buy another Gillette product and I will try not to buy a P&G product (they are difficult to avoid) until they disavow this whole idea. Just sell! Don’t moralize!

[riri]

and focusing their marketing efforts on female customers.

That's old school.

They are marketing to the 753 new genders.

[Captain Compassion]

Harry’s is all over the net selling their alternative to Gillette. Try them. Better, cheaper and they don’t insult you.

[rollo tomasi]

Perhaps, however, the demographic they are chasing is not exactly the feminine type. The trend now is to grow armpit hair and dye it in rainbow colors. I have a feeling the trend will move to the pelvic region and the legs.

Also, a lot of women do not like Beta conditioning.

[Elsie]

I wonder if these guys find a new goodie of stuff in their lockers at every home game??

https://www.patriots.com/team/players-roster/

[Elsie]

So; do the Mariners get Old Spice stuff?

[Elsie]

How ‘bout them Falcons and Seahawks?

Dove stuff?

[Elsie]

For the girls, it’s only one step away from the sissy boys to Romans 1:26-29

[melsec]

Amen!

[Gritty]

Yep. I switched from Gillette (using their razors for years) to Harry's the very day I saw the ad.

I don't need to be insulted for my money nor do I need a bunch of toxic feminists telling me I am "toxic". They can go bully cowering soi boys.

[Garth Tater]

"Not so sure about that. Schick is produced by Edgewell and Gillette by P & G, which are separate companies. "

I didn't say the razors were produced by the same companies, I said that whichever company you buy your blades from it is largely owned by the same investment firms that own the company that you are boycotting.

An interesting paper that documents the web of shared corporate ownership:

The Network of Global Corporate Control


Abstract

The structure of the control network of transnational corporations affects global market competition and financial stability. So far, only small national samples were studied and there was no appropriate methodology to assess control globally. We present the first investigation of the architecture of the international ownership network, along with the computation of the control held by each global player. We find that transnational corporations form a giant bow-tie structure and that a large portion of control flows to a small tightly-knit core of financial institutions. This core can be seen as an economic “super-entity” that raises new important issues both for researchers and policy makers.

[SaveFerris]

[ As Andrew Breitbart famously noted, politics is downstream from culture. ]

Yep. This Gillette ad is also politics by other means. It’s warfare on men.

That’s why Manchurian Candidate Barack Hussein Obama loves feminized men. Apparently, in more ways that one.

[SaveFerris]

perfect

[Texas resident]

Harry’s and Dollar shave club are having their Christmas a bit late.

[Amish with an attitude]

Have been boycotting Gillette for years.

[GSWarrior]

Some of the worst bullies are teenaged girls. They get a pass.

[Aut Pax Aut Bellum]

This dumb Gillette ad seems to be the most important topic this week... Really?
Well, it is important. This is the growing trends to try and reshape our society. Change all men into whimpering metrosexuals. Then, they won't stand and fight against the coming Socialist Revolution. They will tell you it is to to lift up and free women,etc. Really, it is to neuter the opposition to what they want to do.

[Moltke]

I just see it as example #5,556,354,874,455 of Cultural Marxism/Political Correctness. I.e., nothing particularly novel that warrants that much "surprised outrage".

Of course, CM/PC as such remains The Enemy and must be fought whenever possible.