"Men will be men," is a phrase that many of us have often heard as an excuse to justify certain actions. More often than not, these actions tend to be in the direction of a gender stereotype that may be questionable. Targetting the same is the latest advertisement by Gillette that questions toxic masculinity by tweaking its 30-year old tagline - The Best A Man Can Get - to asking, "Is this the best a man can get?" The 1.49-minute ad, which has gone viral with over 2.5 million views, begins with various news reports on the #MeToo movement and gradually moves on to feature sexism in films, violence between boys, harassment in the workplace, bullying, each of which is justified by a subtle," Boys will be boys." “Boys will be boys”? Isn’t it time we stopped excusing bad behavior? Re-think and take action by joining us at #TheBestMenCanBe pic.twitter.com/hhBL1XjFVo — Gillette (@Gillette) January 14, 2019 While the advertisement was lauded by many, there were others who criticised it for being too presumptuous. "Great campaign. It’s too bad that a whole lot of men here think that being a man means not allowing themselves to feel feelings, or treat other people decently," read one of the many comments in response to the heated debate the ad has triggered on social media. Amazing advertising, this is exactly what we should be doing to challenge this type of behaviour. #TheBestMenCanBe — Naughtyrobot (@naughtyrob0t) January 15, 2019 I've used @Gillette razors my entire adult life but this absurd virtue-signalling PC guff may drive me away to a company less eager to fuel the current pathetic global assault on masculinity. Let boys be damn boys. Let men be damn men. — Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 14, 2019 Gillete: *showing a video about how men can and should be better* Men: *actively proving them right* — J. D. Wiser (@jd_wiser) January 14, 2019 Ok, this is on the nose and I can see a lot of people groaning for good reason. However, a lot of the criticism misses the mark. Gillette are, in fact, not saying that men are bad. — Dr Asa Johannesen (@WhatBehaviour) January 15, 2019 Guys, please educate me. What is wrong with this ad? — A Fokken Princess! 👑 (@cremechic11) January 15, 2019 I am taking action. I'm researching every product made by Proctor & Gamble, throwing any I have in the trash, and never buying any of them again until everyone involved in this ad from top to bottom is fired and the company issues a public apology. — Joe (@JoeS3678) January 14, 2019 Thank you for this, @Gillette. Although I never shave my body hair due to my feminist principles, I’m going to start buying your razors anyway in order to support your brave work. — Titania McGrath (@TitaniaMcGrath) January 14, 2019 It's so so crazy to me that so many men are upset that a commercial is asking them to be a better person and stand up for others. Absolutely WILD. This is an amazing campaign. — Emily Lynne (@TheEmilyLynne) January 15, 2019 Cheers Gillette, we had a good run. I'll find another product. — Jovan Kuzmanovski (@JovKuz) January 14, 2019
