By Rick Stanton
I’m sure you’ve seen the ad by now (if not, see first link below). Like so many big brands, Gillette is attempting to be part of the solution, while only underscoring why it’s part of the problem. You’re too late, you idiots.
We have a lot of problems in this country. There’s gun violence, bullying, sexism, racism, Russian influence, an idiot/traitor for a president, homelessness, the effects of climate change and the list goes on and on…
It seems every time one of the big national brands tries to demonstrate that it’s outraged about one of these problems, what they really seem to be saying is, “We’ve stood on the sidelines long enough to make sure we’re following, not leading. God knows, we don’t want to risk a leadership position.”
Gillette’s portrayals of what it takes to be “the best a man can be” (instead of acting like guys who’ve bought their shaving products for years) rings hollow to me. This point of view should have come out decades ago.
Treating women like punching bags or house maids has been a problem long before the marketing brain trust at Gillette decided to say something about it. The narrative of being a boorish, testosterone-driven bully has long been looked at as reprehensible, even though boorish bullies persist. (See Trump)
Whether it’s Nike, Ikea or General Motors, most of the time the efforts to “do the right thing” look like opportunism in its most vile and crass forms.
I applaud those advertisers with the guts to stand for something, while taking the heat for being out front. Remember, the pioneers are the ones with the arrows in their asses.
As I’ve quoted in other columns, the great advertising icon, Bill Bernbach, said, “The real risk is standing for nothing.” Standing for something long after it’s been identified as something worth standing up for is officially standing for nothing.
Gillette responds to the backlash against its woke viral ad
https://www.ispot.tv/browse/q.Io/politics-government-and-organizations/social-issues
