Brand Activism and Its Side Effects

9/6/2020 'Toxic masculinity' on the edge, Marketing & Advertising News, ET BrandEquity
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back res for others
Delshad Irani & Amit Bapna ETBrandEquity
January 23, 2019, 06:00 IST
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P&G Gillette's newest post-MeToo lm that takes on

"toxic masculinity" woke up to mixed reviews. Many
men and journalist Piers Morgan took to various
online platforms to register their protests against the
https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/toxic-masculinity-on-the-edge/67642963 1/14
ad that, according to them, derides traditional

contours of masculinity and paints all men as vile
creatures who just bully and barbecue. Some even tried
to ush their razors down the toilet. (Surely plumbers
in the vicinity rejoiced.) This form of protest was the
equivalent of some Americans burning their Nike
sneakers after the Colin Kaepernick campaign.
Amidst the swell of outrage, we wonder why ‘woke’ as

a strategy works so well for the likes of Nike, Axe,
Dove, and other brands like P&G's Always
(#LikeAGirl), Ariel (‘Share the Load’ in India),
Whisper (Touch the pickle, India) and Vicks
(#TouchOfCare, made in Singapore for India). And
why it back res sometimes. ADVERTISING
Axe is the male deo brand from Unilever that wrote the
book on sexually exploitative advertising that turned 1 day ago
Kurkure launches
women into objects of desire and/or ravenous hordes
festive campaign
in teeny-weeny bikinis thirsting for a mediocre man featuring Akshay
Kumar
made marvelous by the scent of Axe. But then, a few
years ago, the brand completely changed its ad-tact. It
became, for lack of a better word, ‘woke’. The new Axe
man has a well-groomed beard and plays with kittens. 1 day ago
We wonder, did he use Gillette before? We’ll leave that Lay’s launches
festive TVC
mystery for another day though.
featuring Ranbir
Kapoor
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Back to P&G’s recent close shave. Brand Equity asked

EDITOR'S PICK
Indian creative chiefs and marketers for their hot take
on the lm and observations on why brands still go for
‘woke’ in these times of easy outrage. 1 day ago
Enamouring a new
generation with
But, rst, what’s ‘woke’? Here’s two de nitions. Take
native tales:
your pick. Success of localised
Kids’ content in
India
Aware of and actively attentive to important facts and
issues (especially issues of racial and social justice.)
(Source: Merriam-Webster)
1 day ago
The act of being very pretentious about how much you Alpenliebe's TVC
showcases new
care about a social issue. (Source: Urban Dictionary) product with
‘Shararat’
“Pointing ngers tends to polarise people,” says

Bobby Pawar, chairman and chief creative o cer,
Havas Group India
1 day ago
BYJU’S thanks
The obvious question is, what does a shaving product teachers for
embracing tech-
have to do with trying to rede ne what it means to be based learning
male? What relevance does it have to changing
attitudes that are hardwired into men by generations
of cultural programming? The equally obvious answer

is, that a brand should have a bigger purpose that
1 day ago
stems from its DNA. A brand that is about ‘The best a Luminous
man can get’ can stretch to shedding light on what is highlights decade
long association
the ‘best in a man’ in the here and now. with Sachin
Tendulkar
There is nothing wrong with the platform that Gillette

chose. It’s a ‘woke’ idea that, I bet, resonated deeply
with all the ‘woke’ folks. Especially, those who have
1 day ago
been victimized. It’s people who still are on the other Kurkure launches
side of the argument who got all the riled up. It’s the festive campaign
featuring Akshay
nature of men to get all defensive when they perceive Kumar
that they are being attacked. The outcry doesn’t come
from tackling the issues that Gillette picked, it is
prompted by how it was done, the execution. The rst
part of the lm takes the age-old attitudes of men
head-on, this is what elicited the backlash.
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The reaction would have been di erent if they had

started the lm with the footage of ex-football player,
Terry Crews, saying ‘Men need to hold other men
accountable’. Then they should have played out all the
scenes from the second half, of ‘woke’ men remedying
an ‘un-woke’ situation.
Pointing ngers tends to polarise people. It is okay if

an activist does it, but it’s tricky terrain for brands.
O ering a genuine solution to a problem without
casting blame, especially at a time when people are
getting increasingly thin-skinned is a better way to go.
“A gentle nudge is not woke,” says Tista Sen,

regional creative director, J Walter Thompson India &
Sri Lanka
We may not know it but a brand can be your best

friend. Your BFF too. And that’s the kind of buddy-
buddy relationship Gillette shares. And then one ne
day you realize an ugly truth. Your best friend isn’t
really cozying up to you anymore but telling you
things you don’t want to hear.
Ah, well. The Gillette ad has got the male underwear in

a twist. All shades, all colors. Woke is good. And woke
is sometimes what iconic brands need. Ra-ra and
status quo are sometimes pedantic in a world that
outrages with every tweet and every Insta-post. Toxic
masculinity and #metoo are no longer words brushed
under the carpet but land with a thump on the table.
And to ignore what the rest of the world is embracing
seems obtuse in these times.
So the men may vent and spew testosterone over much

online chatter but the women applaud as do fathers
raising little boys, single dads and men who are in
touch with the entire notion of what being a man in

2019 is really all about.
Woke also worked for Nike. Kaepernick and his call to

sacri ce everything led to the inevitable. With initial
posts of burning shoes and socks and graphic images
in garbage bins. And then what. An unprecedented
spike in sales because people identi ed with the bigger
underlying message and that is truly what woke
evokes.
As a communicator working with a marketing team we

debate this endlessly. Will our loyal base reject us? Is
this too bold? The truth is unless ‘woke’ is a shake up
and grabs you by whatever rocks your boat you will not
even know the di erence. A gentle nudge is not woke.
A giant shake-you-till-our-teeth-rattle is. I get that
Nike appeals to a bigger movement and sport and
taking a stand and police atrocities all combined to
appeal to humanity and heart.
While Gillette and the outrage, on the other hand,

takes a massive potshot at everything that it takes to
be a man in a man’s world. And, of course, the famous
‘boys will be boys’ refrain, which nowadays makes one
want to vomit. About time.
POKE.MAN. - Sidharth Loyal, founder, Trium Strategic

Advisory and former MD, Wieden+Kennedy India
“It’s clearly a re ection of the tumultuous times we

are living in and given the fact that at many levels
brands exist to impact, in ltrate or in uence culture;
“Staying Woke” does seem to do its bit in aligning
brand ethos with meaningful and evolving cultural
mindsets, especially within the FMCG category given
their spread and reach across millions of consumers.
Moreover, today commerce nds itself at the rather

con icting intersection of design, technology and
socio-cultural impact; resulting in brands having to
recon gure their purpose to help make the world a
better place, propounding the need for both marketers
and agencies to also start recon guring and reframing
themselves; as potential cultural experience hubs to
bring sharper relevance and meaning to marketing.
#Metoo is perhaps a good recent example of how a

strong rally cry and movement has naturally also
evolved into lending itself as a cause for brands to take
part in. Dove’s “Inner Beauty” strategy worked
wonders because it was a thought provoking social
truth relatable to women across all demo and
psychographics while in this case the majority of men
seem to have been o ended for getting labeled into the
“All men are the same” stereotype and right here lies
the beauty of the power of a brand to cut through
emotions like a knife through hot butter.
A modern day brand might have still gotten away with

it but such reactions come as no surprise when a brand
like Gillette decides to take a stand in an attempt to
in uence behavioural change by challenging the very
mindset associated of using the brand for decades in
the daily ritual of shaving - The shaving cream, razor,
aftershave lotion and the mirror together are more
than just products, they are possibly the equivalent of
the tangible ingredients of personal masculinity and
more importantly, family values and traditions that
would have been passed down generations; and then
one day waking-up to be told that, “You are just like
all of them…” by the very same brand one has grown
up with will naturally alienate and distance this
personal and interdependent relationship between
consumer values and brand values.
But then again, it’s the duty of in uential brands to

stay thought provoking, relevant and engaging. It’s
good they have poked the bear. Reactions lead to
actions that begin to in uence change.
A Marketer’s Take
"If I look at this lm in isolation, it’s basic premise is

good. Let’s hold each other to a higher standard; let’s
set a better example for the next generation; let’s have
a broader de nition of what a man is. No denying that
popular brands and certain celebrities do have some
impact on driving social and behavioral change.
However, what concerns me and some of the people I
have spoken with, is the timing and opportunistic
behavior for a campaign that doesn’t feel as authentic.
If Gillette’s intent with this campaign is to try win
awards or provoke controversy; they have succeeded.
If it was to build brand connect, increase sales or make
their target audience feel empowered and good about
what they can be; they have missed by a mile!”
Delna Avari, management consultant and former Tata

Motors’ head of marketing communications &
services
When Gillette Got It Right?
In 2017, the P&G brand released an emotional-

mine eld of an ad called ‘Handle With Care’ for a ‘New
Assisted Shaving Razor’. The lm tells the story of an
older man who takes care of his elderly father, a man
he always admired for his strength and “arms like
Popeye”. We see black and white images of a man in
his prime juxtaposed with the present reality of a frail
elder whose son is his companion and caregiver. And
ETBrandEquity September 04, 2020, 12:14 IST
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yes, in one scene the son carefully shaves his father’s

face. A few commentators recalled this commercial
following the uproar over Gillette’s latest ad. The
overriding sentiment is that ‘Handle With Care’ did
more justice to the brand and the 2019 line “The Best
Men Can Be" to mark the 30th anniversary of the "Best
a Man Can Get" slogan.
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Enamouring a new generation with native tales: Success of localised Kids’ content in India • Alpenliebe's TVC
showcases new product with ‘Shararat’ • BYJU’S thanks teachers for embracing tech-based learning • Luminous
highlights decade long association with Sachin Tendulkar • Kurkure launches festive campaign featuring Akshay
Kumar • Lay’s launches festive TVC featuring Ranbir Kapoor • Weik eld thanks the ‘Kitchen ka teacher’ • Nihar
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9/6/2020 'Toxic masculinity' on the edge, Marketing & Advertising News, ET BrandEquity

NEWS SITES  Hi, Aditya Shankar …

 NEWS  LONG COPY  MARTEQUITY PORTFOLIO BE+ 

MARKETING ADVERTISING DIGITAL MEDIA SHARK AWARDS 2020 BUSINESS OF BRANDS

PEOPLE REPORT MORE 

'Toxic masculinity' on Subscribe to our

P&G Gillette's newest post-MeToo lm that takes on

ad that, according to them, derides traditional

Amidst the swell of outrage, we wonder why ‘woke’ as

Live Panel Discussion

Register Now  Hear from Top Industry Experts! View More 

Back to P&G’s recent close shave. Brand Equity asked

“Pointing ngers tends to polarise people,” says

of cultural programming? The equally obvious answer

There is nothing wrong with the platform that Gillette

Register Now  Limited Seats Available

Understanding Customer Experience In The

Register Now  Hear from Leading Industry Visionaries

The reaction would have been di erent if they had

Pointing ngers tends to polarise people. It is okay if

“A gentle nudge is not woke,” says Tista Sen,

We may not know it but a brand can be your best

Ah, well. The Gillette ad has got the male underwear in

So the men may vent and spew testosterone over much

touch with the entire notion of what being a man in

Woke also worked for Nike. Kaepernick and his call to

As a communicator working with a marketing team we

While Gillette and the outrage, on the other hand,

POKE.MAN. - Sidharth Loyal, founder, Trium Strategic

“It’s clearly a re ection of the tumultuous times we

Moreover, today commerce nds itself at the rather

#Metoo is perhaps a good recent example of how a

A modern day brand might have still gotten away with

But then again, it’s the duty of in uential brands to

"If I look at this lm in isolation, it’s basic premise is

Delna Avari, management consultant and former Tata

When Gillette Got It Right?

In 2017, the P&G brand released an emotional-

ETBrandEquity September 04, 2020, 12:14 IST

 Click Here to Read This Story

 Click Here to Read This Story

Govt frames new ad norms, to

Dipak K Dash TNN September 04, 2020, 08:40 IST

 Click Here to Read This Story

Care Health Insurance’s new TVC

yes, in one scene the son carefully shaves his father’s

Follow and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook,

‘Impulse buying declined’: how the pandemic

Walter Thompson (composer) Unilever Tricky Stewart

razor P&G Havas Worldwide Gillette

Colin Kaepernick BE This Week

ETBrandEquity Updated: September 03, 2020, 18:43 IST

 Click Here to Read This Story

ASCI partners with TAM Media

 Click Here to Read This Story

ETBrandEquity September 02, 2020, 17:40 IST

 Click Here to Read This Story

Asian Paints’ new campaign

This thread is closed

Facebook Comments Plugin

Kurkure launches festive

 Click Here to Read This Story

Lay’s launches festive TVC

 Click Here to Read This Story