Gillette commercial: "Boys will be Boys"
On Sunday, the razor brand Gillette published a very non-conventional ad which focused on toxic masculinity within American society. Within this piece of media they portray popular commercials which utilize small jokes to degrade women. Gillette says that these jokes quickly devolve into sexual harassment, assault and full fledged misogyny, and they as a company are looking to dispel that culture.
The commercial extensively commented on the #MeToo movement. Gillette's advertising phrase is "The best a man can get", as in this razor gives you power and influence over women: A chic magnet. The company implicitly stated that this message essentially escalated to these feelings of male dominance over American society.
The point of this new Gillette ad was to reshape the implications of the catchphrase. This product is now "The best a man can get" because they can work towards self improvement, in controlling how they look and how they act. Often times unacceptable behavior has been written off as "Boys will be Boys", Gillette capitalizes on that phrase by saying Boys will work to self improvement with the razor, and look for the best aspects of themselves.
Gillette says that being a real man extends far beyond just shaving, but to understanding and dispelling the culture of toxic masculinity that has derived from the idea that "Boys will be Boys". They say that men should not have complete and ultimate power over women when they've just completed a fresh shave, men need to hold themselves and each other to a higher standard.
I think that this commercial was really interesting. Normally when we think about gender roles in society we don't consider the negative implications on men. Men must be dominant, emotionless, and violent. This Gillette commercial is most definitely a step in the right direction in acknowledging and dismantling this unacceptable culture of toxic masculinity through positive change and support.
Link to commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0
On Sunday, the razor brand Gillette published a very non-conventional ad which focused on toxic masculinity within American society. Within this piece of media they portray popular commercials which utilize small jokes to degrade women. Gillette says that these jokes quickly devolve into sexual harassment, assault and full fledged misogyny, and they as a company are looking to dispel that culture.
The commercial extensively commented on the #MeToo movement. Gillette's advertising phrase is "The best a man can get", as in this razor gives you power and influence over women: A chic magnet. The company implicitly stated that this message essentially escalated to these feelings of male dominance over American society.
The point of this new Gillette ad was to reshape the implications of the catchphrase. This product is now "The best a man can get" because they can work towards self improvement, in controlling how they look and how they act. Often times unacceptable behavior has been written off as "Boys will be Boys", Gillette capitalizes on that phrase by saying Boys will work to self improvement with the razor, and look for the best aspects of themselves.
Gillette says that being a real man extends far beyond just shaving, but to understanding and dispelling the culture of toxic masculinity that has derived from the idea that "Boys will be Boys". They say that men should not have complete and ultimate power over women when they've just completed a fresh shave, men need to hold themselves and each other to a higher standard.
I think that this commercial was really interesting. Normally when we think about gender roles in society we don't consider the negative implications on men. Men must be dominant, emotionless, and violent. This Gillette commercial is most definitely a step in the right direction in acknowledging and dismantling this unacceptable culture of toxic masculinity through positive change and support.
Link to commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0
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