Gillette: “The Best a Man Can Be”

Has Procter & Gamble joined the Brand Activism bandwagon? Gillette’s latest ad campaign is turning heads with its “woke” message:

What we see here is an appeal to the “better angels of our nature” :

Gillette has included a pledge to donate $1 million annually (for the next 3 years) to a nonprofit devoted to helping men “achieve their personal ‘best'” The first recipient of this beneficence is the Boys and Girls Club of America.

Predictably, there’s been a backlash.

The naysayers will be looking at the numbers. Will this lead to increased sales? And that, friends, is also “toxic masculinity.”

[h/t to Hazel Henderson]

UPDATE – See also: Right Message, Wrong Brand – You can’t just tack on a brand purpose to a product-driven brand and hope it works!

AND:

AND:

“Do Not Risk Your Brand To Build Your Reputation: A Lesson Learned From Gillette” – Jonathan Knowles