Standing firm against backlash

Gilette's campaign supporting the #metoo campaign will help strengthen its equity

On one level, Gillette's recent “Is this the best a man can get?” advertisement is just more fodder for a largely divided public. Ultra-liberals have lauded the ad for its social progressiveness in helping define everyday tangible issues around #metoo and toxic masculinity. Ultra-conservatives have roundly trashed the ad for demonising men and being more of a “politically correct” claptrap. 
 
As with a similar ad run by Nike a few months ago, featuring Colin Kaepernick, the heated arguments and vitriol that occur in the wake of the ad are very useful to the brand. When a brand becomes the centre of an entire society's attention, even for just a few weeks, the benefits are profound. Some benefits — such as top-of-mind awareness and the tens of millions of dollars of earned media — are clear. It is like having a successful Super Bowl ad times ten. Gillette is society’s “it” brand of the moment. That is never easy to do in general and especially, in a category where Gillette has lost momentum, having been outflanked by internet competitors such as Dollar Shave Club. The timing could not be better as Gillette ramps up their own “Gillette Razors on Demand” subscription and delivery service. On that level, this ad is the golden goose for Gillette: bringing attention to the brand at just the right moment.
 

Brian Sheehan, Professor, Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University

We live the real world which is not always a politically charged. In this world, Gillette’s new ad is a welcome and stimulating addition to the discussion. It gives us tangible scenes that let us sort through our emotions about how we feel about these important societal issues. It makes for great cocktail party conversation.
 
Gillette has done its brand a favour by deeply understanding its own brand's equity. The idea of taking their brand line, “The best a man can get”, and turning that into a challenge statement (i.e., “Is this the best a man can get”) is pure brilliance.
 
For those who look closely at the ad — which the haters will rarely do — it actually shows men doing things that take more bravery than fighting. If Gillette's equity is about defining manhood, then this ad is actually closer to what most people think men should act like today than any ad they have ever run.
 
I wrote an article about the Kaepernick Nike ad when it came out. In that article, I had written:
“But as great brands know, the long-term reward of standing up for your beliefs usually dwarfs short-term economic hits. It is a smart investment. By standing with Kaepernick, Nike is saying to athletes, 'We are more than a sponsor-we have your backs. We support what you believe in.' In other words, Nike is willing to act on its values, which are the same as the values of its athletes.”
 
This is as true for Gillette as it was for Nike. In the short-term, some people will protest and perhaps stop buying their brand. However, in the long-term, Gillette is in solidarity with the average American male (and the women he knows and loves). Many predicted that Nike would see a loss in sales from the Kaepernick ad because it was too politically divisive. Sales went up for Nike. I predict the same for Gillette.