Gillette's New "Toxic Masculinity" Ad (1 Viewer)

[rajncajn]

You don't need to become fully invested in every culture battle Flipx. You can ignore some of them and take a break sometimes. Most of these culture wars are short lived or cyclical any how.

I'd put money on Gillette going right back to sexy women in scant bikini's as soon as summertime hits.

 

[ChaChingBaby]

The same people all angry over this ad are the same people who label us "snowflakes", so who's the real snowflakes who get offended over anything? The Alt Right's entire psychology can be summed up in one word = projection

 

[brandon8283]

Did you just call me a birch. Lol (probably not a good idea for us to hook up at a saints game)

I don’t even know what feeling like a victim is. I am the polar opposite. I like to fight not cower like a victim. I am a lion my friend not a cub.

If you think this ad was just targeting some men, gosh no wonder our society is going to Hell in a hand basket.

Hey, you know what? My bad. I shouldn’t have said that. It was unnecessary and detracted from my point, and I apologize for it. Honestly.

Now, the fun part. What makes me more masculine? To own up to my past transgressions and apologize to you and change my ways for the better, or to stick to my guns, insist that I did nothing wrong, and make an appointment with you outside Champion’s Square?

 

[Saint_Ward]

I finally watched the video. I hadn't had the time prior to now.

I really don't get the uproar. The whole tone is about how we should be good examples to each other and to our kids. Do the right thing.

Do the right thing, be a better example, is suddenly something to be outraged about in 2019?

Y'all must hate Captain America, Spiderman, the Avengers, Superman, etc.

 

[rajncajn]

Hey, you know what? My bad. I shouldn’t have said that. It was unnecessary and detracted from my point, and I apologize for it. Honestly.

Now, the fun part. What makes me more masculine? To own up to my past transgressions and apologize to you and change my ways for the better, or to stick to my guns, insist that I did nothing wrong, and make an appointment with you outside Champion’s Square?

Does changing your ways just so you can score a point in who is the bigger man qualify? You probably would have done a much better job of making that point if you just apologized without "the fun part."

 

[brandon8283]

Does changing your ways just so you can score a point in who is the bigger man qualify? You probably would have done a much better of making that point if you just apologized without "the fun part."

It is a sincere apology.

However, in light of the current topic, I think it also necessary to point out that it's certainly not unmasculine to recognize fault, apologize, and try to do better.

I also recognized that this would cause my apology to appear expedient. I assure you that was not the case. I have a habit of saying just a bit more than I should and the high road isn't always the first thing on my typing fingers. I'll try to do better.

 

[rajncajn]

It is a sincere apology.

However, in light of the current topic, I think it also necessary to point out that it's certainly not unmasculine to recognize fault, apologize, and try to do better.

I also recognized that this would cause my apology to appear expedient. I assure you that was not the case. I have a habit of saying just a bit more than I should and the high road isn't always the first thing on my typing fingers.

I'm often guilty of the same thing and quick to give an apology as well. So here I am... Good on you for being confident enough to put that out there.

 

[N.O.Bronco]

Honestly, if there is a real discussion worth having over this issue, aside from the tantrum throwing brought on by an obsession with the culture wars, to me it's about the meta nature of the advertising world and the culture that has been influenced and forms around it.

Gillette is not the first corporate product to appeal to social or political issues to endear itself to a targeted consumer base, so this is not a new phenomenon(though to conservatives that are probably used to those appeals being toward their sentiments most of their life, it perhaps feels that way), but every time people rally behind these rather superficial appeals I do admit to getting a bit uneasy(though in this instance I don't really see that so much as people just finding it ridiculous the tantrums being thrown by those in opposition).

On the one hand, like it or not, brands represent America and are an influential part of the culture, so it's certainly a good thing that so many are trying to be a positive force and signaling positive messages of inclusion, tolerance, and striving for better ideals. on the other hand there is something rather dystopian about cheering on a brand because it signals the right way while that same company underpays it's workers, harms the environment, abuses natural resources, and/or exploits the very consumer base it claims to want to positively represent. Basically, there is a fine line between encouraging brands to be positive forces and being suckered by agreeable messages that cover up deeper harms below the surface and I think there is certainly a growing tendency for the left especially to fall into that trap.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Let's take the old nuancemobile out for a drive and see where it takes us.

Your position is that the ad is making the point that some men engage in bad behavior, and by implication that it recognizes that the majority of men already do the right thing.

My take on it is that the ad says exactly the opposite of what you claim.

The ad starts off by showing a horde of young males chasing one child. (Meanwhile the voiceover is saying that we can't hide from this and that it has been going on for far too long, suggesting that is currently what we as a whole are currently doing).

Then we see some cartoonish examples of sexual harassment, followed by a whole room full of men laughing hysterically.

Then we see a line of men grilling, repeatedly chanting in a cult like fashion, "boys will be boys," while watching two boys fight.

Now we come to a brief scene of a "reporter" (from the Young Turks no less) talking about allegations of sexual harassment, playing on the "metoo" movement which is a constant them throughout. And then the frame is filled by frames within that frame of various reporters discussing sexual harassment claims (obviously intent to emphasize just how pervasive the problem is among men).

And the voiceover declares that "then something changed, and there will be no going back."

We then see the room full of men (with a woman here and there) who were previously laughing, now with solemn looks on their faces.

Why will there be no turning back? "Because we (Gillette?) believe in the best in the men. To say the right thing. To act the right way. Some, already are. In ways big, and in ways small. But some, is not enough."


So, I am glad you decided to focus on some, versus most. Now, make your best nuanced argument to support your belief that the ad reflects that only some men behave poorly.

So, do you get upset when you watch the old Marines ad? The Few, the Proud, the Marines? Because you're not one of the few or proud? You're not good enough? did you feel like they were against men?

this is silly.

 

[Flipx99]

So, do you get upset when you watch the old Marines ad? The Few, the Proud, the Marines? Because you're not one of the few or proud? You're not good enough? did you feel like they were against men?

this is silly.

Pretty damn weak Ward.

 

[SystemShock]

Let's take the old nuancemobile out for a drive and see where it takes us.
.

Watch out for that "it's only a freaking TV commercial for razors" speed bump.

 

[Saint_Ward]

Pretty damn weak Ward.

Not anywhere near as weak as complaining about a few short examples within a 90 second commercial that is overall about just being a good example and a good man.

There has to be a level of self loathing to get upset about that.

 

[You]

But this...

 

[Flipx99]

Not anywhere near as weak as complaining about a few short examples within a 90 second commercial that is overall about just being a good example and a good man.

There has to be a level of self loathing to get upset about that.

A corporation with a household brand makes a gaff that will arguably result in the loss of a significant portion of it's customers, it makes international news, and yet posting a thread on a football forum is over the top. That makes sense.

You are just engaging in a tired old tactic here on sr.com that is obvious. You don't like the topic, you can't make a coherent reasonable argument in defense of the ad, so you try to malign the poster. Quite frankly, you are doing a pretty sheetty job of that. Of course you will get applause from others who pretend that they don't see the problems with the ad, but that's predictable.

 

[N.O.Bronco]

A corporation with a household brand makes a gaff that will arguably result in the loss of a significant portion of it's customers, it makes international news, and yet posting a thread on a football forum is over the top. That makes sense.

You are just engaging in a tired old tactic here on sr.com that is obvious. You don't like the topic, you can't make a coherent reasonable argument in defense of the ad, so you try to malign the poster. Quite frankly, you are doing a pretty shirtty job of that. Of course you will get applause from others who pretend that they don't see the problems with the ad, but that's predictable.

A gaffe? What about this ad is a gaffe? It seems deliberate and intentional and they don't seem all that embarassed to me....I also am old enough to remember when people said Nike just killed their sales by siding with Kaep, then sales went up 31%. Or when conservatives claimed every thing they didn't like in the culture wars would lead to them getting routed in the mid-terms...IDK maybe wait for the results to come in before moralizing like you have them(not that I am sure why we should care what happens to Gillette's sales?)?


I'll reiterate....

16 pages and I haven't heard one person articulate what specific example is problematic in this ad and why this ad, aside from being sappy produced corporate pandering, is any different than an ad against homophobia or racism?

Have men not on a notable scale embraced aspects of this behavior? I've certainly seen it, any look at popular culture in the last 50 years and the behavior on social media platforms that claim millions of members speaks to it. So why is this any different than an ad talking about prejudice, homophobia, or being a better Christian?

As to the assumption that this is an attempt to implicate all men, that same argument could literally be used for any PSA and the subset of a group they are talking about, so the argument falls incredibly flat unless this level of hyperventilating is something you do every time someone comes on the TV and mentions undesirable behavior amongst a population, to which my reply would be to grow up.