Gillette, for decades, it was, “the best a man can get” and the company sold its razors through selling the lure for men to have sex with women after they use their razors. The company has been telling men for years, if you shave, she’ll want you, trivializing and demeaning women in their ads.
Now, Gillette is blaming men for the masculinity the company itself has always promoted, reversing itself and its tag line to “The best a man can be”.
“Thirty years ago, we launched our The Best A Man Can Get tagline. Since then, it has been an aspirational statement, reflecting standards that many men strive to achieve,” the company said in a statement. “But turn on the news today and it’s easy to believe that men are not at their best. Many find themselves at a crossroads, caught between the past and a new era of masculinity. While it is clear that changes are needed, where and how we can start to effect that change is less obvious for many. And when the changes needed seem so monumental, it can feel daunting to begin. So, let’s do it together.”
So, as of this day forward, Gillette declares that a clean shave with one of their razors will not guarantee a romp in the sack with the opposite sex…because…well, that was yesterday and this is today.
“From today on, we pledge to actively challenge the stereotypes and expectations of what it means to be a man everywhere you see Gillette. In the ads we run, the images we publish to social media, the words we choose, and so much more,” the company said, abandoning its thirty year track record of demeaning women as clueless, mindless sex objects waiting for the next clean shaven face to walk by to have sex with.
The ad faced appropriate backlash as being too much, especially from a company that promoted such behavior just hours before the new ad campaign dropped.’
It seems like just yesterday, the company was pushing the #shaveforher hashtag.
Here is a glimpse into Gillette’s advertising past…where they sold razors encouraging men to be masculine and use their newly clean shaven face to go out and well, get some.
