Open your news app, scroll, browse through an onslaught of shameful headlines, repeat. That’s the sequence of actions taken—for what seems like an eternity—when we catch up on the day’s news. Shift through the current events and you’re bound to find story after story with a sad underlying theme: “toxic masculinity,” which tends to be at the root of stories pertaining to harassment, bullying and the like. The topic was even recently addressed by the American Psychological Association when they issued new guidelines for psychologists on how to assess “traditional masculinity,” a moniker that suggests there’s something wrong with the man of old.
Widely recognized American brand, Gillette, is bringing the issue to the forefront too with its new campaign, “We Believe,” with a strong positioning statement: “The Best a Man Can Be.” The introspective phrase challenges the brand’s almost synonymous tagline “The Best a Man Can Get.” With head-on creative by Grey, the nearly two-minute commercial takes on “mansplaining,” sexism, aggression, and misogyny with clips of real news coverage of the #MeToo movement and more. Take a look at the piece below, in what’s trending this week in the advertising and marketing communities.
The campaign, launched on January 13, already has millions of views on YouTube and has generated a ton of meaningful (and divisive) discussion on social media. Among the frenzied response, Gillette issued a statement, saying it has a responsibility to ensure it is “promoting positive, attainable, inclusive and healthy versions of what it means to be a man.”
Full statement:
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.
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.
It’s time we acknowledge that brands, like ours, play a role in influencing culture. And as a company that encourages men to be their best, we have a responsibility to make sure we are promoting positive, attainable, inclusive and healthy versions of what it means to be a man. With that in mind, we have spent the last few months taking a hard look at our past and coming communication and reflecting on the types of men and behaviors we want to celebrate. We’re inviting all men along this journey with us – to strive to be better, to make us better, and to help each other be better.
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.
As part of The Best Men Can Be campaign, Gillette is committing to donate $1 million per year for the next three years to non-profit organizations executing programs in the United States designed to inspire, educate and help men of all ages achieve their personal “best” and become role models for the next generation.
Our tagline needs to continue to inspire us all to be better every day, and to help create a new standard for boys to admire and for men to achieve… Because the boys of today are the men of tomorrow.
We’ve all got work to do. And it starts today.
Gillette. The Best A Man Can Get.