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Sunday, August 04, 2019

Gillette Loses Billions after Shaming Men in Ad Campaign

Earlier this year, Gillette embarked on a bold new advertising campaign. For decades, the company had celebrated masculinity, telling us that being a man is good. But what this new campaign presupposes is: Maybe it isn't?
 

OUT: The Best a Man Can Get

IN: Aren't Men Just the Worst?

It's a bold idea, expressly shaming the very market for your product. As I noted at the time:

Gillette has learned that in [current year], it's not enough for a company to make a product that people want. It's not enough to make them feel inadequate about themselves, and then sell them the supposed cure for that inadequacy. Consumers, men in particular, must be made to feel worthless. They have to be reminded that their needs and desires are wrong under any circumstances, that their instincts are loathsome, that their very existence is a malignancy, and that they're responsible for all the world's ills whether they want to admit it or not.
Now give them your money, you piece of garbage.
But hey, maybe I was wrong. Maybe this was a good idea. How is it working out for Gillette?

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18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just another attempt to get men to shave their legs.

Anonymous said...

NFL, Starbucks,Target,Nike,Dicks,Gillette.Just leave Jack Daniels alone.

Anonymous said...

The article makes bold assertions, draws loose correlations, yet doesn't substantiate it's claims...

Remember, correlation does not mean causation.... do not let your confirmation bias cloud your better judgement.

These ad campaigns weren't targeted at men though... they were targeted at women and millennial... yet there is no reporting on if the ads affected sales by these demographics.

To be true, new competitors are eating up market share, one could speculate that if Gillette had not run these commercials they would be worse off in the women's and millennial markets.

Procter and Gamble saw an increase in total profits 3.58% over the last year 17 billion... so I'd like to see how the actual individual numbers are broken down before making a judgement about these ads.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for reminding me to pick up BIC.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for reminding me to pick up BIC.

Anonymous said...


Gillette had pushed the price point to where the blades had to be kept in locked displays thus opening the door for more competitors with more efficient, targeted sales strategies. First problem.

Then they put a bag of poop on their front stoop, lit it and proceeded to walk through the house after merely soiling their footgear while looking for more poop to douse the blaze with. Bigger problem.

So now corporate parent Proctor & Gamble (P&G) has written off a great deal of Gillette's value from the balance sheet, punishing the shareholders.

My solution, which others seem to be adopting, is to consciously avoid any product made by Gillette, and anything by P&G. Some other company has a parallel product to everything they sell so I'm not suffering.

In man talk, screw 'em!

Anonymous said...

Bow to 000.1 % of the population piss off 99%

Anonymous said...

It's been more than two years since I last purchased any product from Gillette. I use Bic razors. Great quality and a great price and no political correctness. I like Harry's but their razors used to cut or nick my face when I used them.

Anonymous said...

I'll keep the beard and trim it with a hatchet sharpened with a fine stone I found while doing some manly outdoor stuff.

Anonymous said...

10:27

I like your spirit!!!!

We are men, and we are proud!!!

Anonymous said...

Bend over for transgenders get SHAFTED by straights.

Anonymous said...

No more Gillette, Nike, etc, etc...not to mention actors..sorry

Anonymous said...

10:27 AM - I couldn't have expressed it better. Man on!

Anonymous said...

💯

Anonymous said...

9:44 spot on,some CEO,s not very smart.

Anonymous said...

The Jewish owners of these big corporations use money as control. The money isn’t the end game. Power is the end game. They are destined (in their minds) to rule over the rest of us.

Most Christians don’t understand Judaism. They don’t really grasp what happened with Jesus Christ. Those who murdered Him and their descendants are seeking ultimate power over humanity through their master, Satan.

Learn to read the scriptures.

Anonymous said...

Don't be sorry if you mean it. Women have a bad habit of saying I'm sorry - myself included. We are not sorry we were just brain washed as women to say that - I guess! No offense to you men who shave every day because we women appreciate it.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I don't know alit about Jews but I can't help wonder why all of a sudden Jews are the reason we have so many changes problems in this world. Muslims have taken over Congress and trying to destroy American values. South Americans are invading America because everything is free. Illegal immigrants are invading America from all over the world yet the Jews are our problem. Not. I am not a Jew. I am a concerned American citizen concerned about our country's priorities. Condemning Jews should not be one of them - Dems seem to want to use the Jews as our enimies. There not.