6 Reasons Why Gillette’s New Commercial is Important

by Madison Sayre

Gillette is receiving a lot of flack from men after releasing a new advertisement focused on sexual harassment and the way that boys are raised in America. The shaving company posted the video on Twitter as part of their “The Best Men Can Be” campaign.

The video includes but is not limited to bullying, sexual harassment, women being cat-called, etc. while a voiceover asks, “Is this the best a man can get?”

Why this advertisement is important:

1. It highlights that we need to be raising boys the right way: teaching them that it is okay to cry, and that they are not superior to women.
2. It targets toxic masculinity, which needs to be acknowledged and fixed in our culture. Toxic masculinity is not simply doing masculine things. Toxic masculinity is treating women as objects, feeling like it’s not okay to discuss emotions, using violence to solve problems, etc. There is a major difference between a man who contributes to toxic masculinity and a man who doesn’t.
3. It touches on sexual harassment and the MeToo Movement. People need to talk about sexual harassment, whether it be male or female. Terry Cruz was even featured in the video stating, “Men need to hold other men accountable.” Just a few months ago, men made fun of him for coming out about his story.
4. We can’t keep sweeping old ideals under the rug and covering them with the phrase “boys will be boys”—this commercial recognized that, featuring a line-up of stereotypical dads barbequing and chanting “boys will be boys”
5. The fact that Gillette, a company whose target audience is mostly men, is using their platform to create positive change is astounding. They recognize that the change has to start somewhere, even if they are just a razor company.
6. Men who are getting upset by this advertisement are part of the problem. There is nothing in the ad that would be upsetting unless a man felt directly called out on his actions.