Whatever Gillette’s Message is, it Isn’t About Shame

I can say with absolute certainty that Gillette’s Marketing team will be rubbing their hands together in glee this week. Thanks to the heady combination of liberalism back-patting and intolerant backlashing, their most recent ad campaign has spiralled into the world of viral advertising. And what a ride it’s been.

Thanks to outrage and support, the advert has been spread far and wide across the internet, surely saving the shaving brand a wad of cash from their budget. And hey, they may even sell a few razors from it too.

But what’s all the fuss about, you may ask from the side line, as you watch heated exchanges between feminists and men’s rights activists, or Piers Morgan and everybody he deems to be a ‘snowflake’ (what’s new?).

The advert, in case you haven’t seen it – if that’s the case, give it a look yourself– positions Gillette’s famous slogan, the best a man can get, in the context of a post-#MeToo world and shines a hard light on the timeless excuse that ‘boys will be boys’.

The advert begs the question that if we’re condoning and excusing behaviour such as fighting, bullying, and objectifying women in boys, will they grow up to be the best men they can be? I’m guessing not without some intense self-reflection.

It also beautifully points out that the current generation of children are looking to us for an example, and what we teach them will be what they take forward – it’s always been the way. But with more activism and better awareness of humanity’s flaws, we’ve got a chance to instil in them the qualities that will make today’s children the best generation there’s been.

Except, of course, that too many people are accusing the advert of being an ‘attack on masculinity’, and the latest shot fired in a war against men being men. Yep, Piers has been busy on Twitter.

Let’s put aside for a moment that the video is, at its most basic level, still serving as advertising for a company – although nobody had a problem when supermarket brand Iceland published an advert about palm oil at Christmas, just saying. The message of the video, behind its corporate origins, is that we shouldn’t excuse behaviour with ‘boys will be boys’, and we should serve as the best example for boys now.

The message isn’t about shame: nobody’s saying to be ashamed of your masculinity.

Nobody is saying that you suddenly can’t ‘be a man’, grow a beard (even though it’s a razor advert), wear a chequered shirt and become a lumberjack. They’re also not saying you can’t talk to women, or stand up for yourself, or watch football in the pub with the lads.

What’s being said is ‘don’t be an ass’. Don’t let boys get away with things because it’s how you expect boys to behave based on bullshit historic sterotypes. Don’t let the lessons you were taught as a kid turn you into a shitty adult who ignores consent, starts fights, and serves as a bad example. That kind of behaviour is the only thing to be ashamed of.