Just this month, Gillette came out with a short film

styled commercial that depicted what the current generation calls “toxic masculinity.” This included images of bullying, sexual harassment, gender norms put upon men, and even their history of making sexist commercials in the past. With such a prominent message, this commercial attracted a lot of negative publicity with over 1.3 million dislikes on YouTube. Although, according to CNN, Gillette is satisfied with sales after this controversial ad as they are still in line with pre-campaign sales. Amongst the millennial Twitter fights and baby boomer Facebook posts, what does our future generation think about this message? Here are some students who decided to speak out about this topic.

Ben Malo (Freshman):

How do you feel about the Gillette commercial?

“It was good in the direction it was trying to go, but was poorly executed because it painted a message that all guys are monsters.”

Do you think companies like Gillette should be making advertisements like these?

“I think if it’s done right it should happen because it’s still a problem, but they didn’t do it right.”

Jeremiah Rangel (Senior):

How do you feel about the Gillette commercial?

“It was powerful and captivating and was important, especially in today’s times.”

Do you think a company like Gillette should be making advertisements like these?

“Yes, because it’s a really popular and a well-respected company that a broad range of men support, so by them using their platform to speak on something important is effective and smart.”

Do you think it was a good message even though some people feel as if it was generalizing men as bad?

“It didn’t paint every man as bad…They are trying to normalize the fair treatment of women, how could that be bad?”

With various opinions on this controversial topic, Gillette definitely succeeded in bringing up this conversation for men and women of all ages to discuss.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/business/gillette-ad-procter-and-gamble-stock/index.html