LOL: Gillette's #WokeMarketing About Toxic Masculinity Went So Well That They're Completely Flipping The Script And Now Making Ads About... Male Firefighters

Oh, so sometimes Toxic Masculinity saves lives and builds civilizations and stuff, too?

I did not know that.

I guess Gillette realized that after writing down $8 billion on their brand value.

PS, you're dead to me and no number of ads about firefighters or soldiers will resurrect you.

Razor brand Gillette says it is "shifting the spotlight from social issues to local heroes" after an ad delving into "toxic masculinity" caused a customer backlash.

The new ad, which launched last week, stars Australian firefighter and personal trainer Ben Ziekenheiner. "I've been a firefighter for 19 years," Mr Ziekenheiner says in the ad.

"People sometimes ask if it's scary. It can be, but like anyone who has a job to do, you prepare -- not just in terms of your equipment but also mentally and physically."

Now get this:

The ad spruiks the brand's SkinGuard range, highlighting the issue of sensitive skin for men who shave every day -- including firefighters, who are required to be clean-shaven as it enables a proper seal for their breathing mask.

"We have a very clear strategy when it comes to how we authentically connect with our consumers," said Manu Airan, associate brand director for Gillette Australia and New Zealand.

Authentic.

Authentic.

Now where do I remember seeing that word, in the contest of Gillette's brand management?

Oh yes. In an interview with Gillette's woke marketing guru, three months ago.

It was just three months ago that Gillette's #Woke #Feminist brand managers were babbling about Social Justice being the brand's "authentic" corporate voice.

Tell us more about the thinking behind the Gillette ad. What was really the impetus behind it?

I think there are a couple of things. Certainly, we encourage all of our brands to find their authentic voice in how they want to communicate with consumers and stakeholders.

"Stakeholder" is a political term, not a business term. It does not mean shareholder. It's a political term of art, a euphemism, for special interest pressure groups.

When Hillary Clinton talks about "conferencing" with "stakeholders," she means Planned Parenthood.

Note: Commenters in the business of business tell me I'm wrong, and that "stakeholders" has been incorporated into CorporateSpeak for at least 15 years.

So while it can be motivated by current events and current conversations that are happening, it still has to be what's right for the business, for the brands, and for the consumers they serve. Otherwise it's unsustainable, or even worse, it shows up as artificial.

You don't say, Corporate NPC.

The Corporate NPC redefines the completely-political euphemism "stakeholder" to mean the Gillette Razor Community, whatever that could possibly mean.

The reality is today, stakeholders of all kinds, whether it's consumers, investors, or employees, they expect more from brands than just selling products. They want to know what they believe in. They want to know their values.

But do they? Or did you just want to try a new branding strategy to jumpstart your dying brand?

They want to know the people behind them and the actions they're taking on important issues. And that was the impetus for Gillette.

So it had been the case that attacking traditional masculinity while celebrating a very non-traditional form of femininity -- namely, rebranding morbid obesity as healthy and confident at any size -- was Gillette's "authentic" corporate voice.

And now firefighters and traditional ideas about masculinity are its "authentic" voice, suddenly?

Here's a thought I just had: Maybe neither of these poses were "authentic corporate voices."

Maybe corporations that sell you widgets don't have voices of any kind, and certainly not "authentic" ones.

I guess having to take an $8 billion writedown on your brand's value can spur you to reevaluate what your "authentic" corporate voice really is, huh?

Will Gillette return to featuring more fit women in its womens shaving product adverts, I wonder? Will Gillette soon discover that cute women with good calves were its "authentic" corporate voice all along?

By the way -- Gillette showed its actual authentic corporate voice when it announced that declining sales were "an opportunity" for them.

Mr Airan said while shaving frequency had been reducing, "for us it's an opportunity". "Despite shaving frequency decreasing our sales have increased (thanks to) the innovation we are bringing to consumers' unmet needs," he said.

The authentic corporate voice? F***ing lying about everything."

Your weekly reminder that this group of useless liars and crap-merchants is, as far as the National Review crew and Establishment GOP are concerned, the only people who have full free speech rights in America.

Thus Spruik Zarathustra: I completely bleeped over the sentence "The ad spruiks the brand's SkinGuard range..."

Spruiks?

Spruiks?

Is it a typo or is this a real word?

Well I don't know, but there is a word "spruik."

spruik (third-person singular simple present spruiks, present participle spruiking, simple past and past participle spruiked)

(transitive, Australia) To promote a thing or idea to another person.
Synonyms
(promote something to someone): pimp, pitch, tout, hawk

That article is indeed from an Australian source.

posted by Ace of Spades at 04:17 PM

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