Gillette’s Iconic Tagline Gets a Face Lift
This is an excerpt from Chapter 3 of my new book, 3-Win Sponsorship. Chapter 3 is titled “The Rise of the Conscious Consumer” and it breaks down how and why consumers have been gravitating towards brands that stand for something more than just their product or service. This trend has major implications for marketers, and is one that folks in the sports and entertainment industry cannot ignore.
I hope you’ll enjoy this story, and would be thrilled to hear from you in the comments.
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In February 1989, Gillette launched a new tagline in a 60-second commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. The Procter & Gamble men’s disposable razor brand put out this aspirational spot by depicting men thriving in various scenarios in their lives: on the playing field, in the meeting room, with their children, and in meeting (and presumably wooing) beautiful women. “Gillette — the best a man can get,” the ad exclaimed in the form of an 80’s jingle.
“The Best a Man Can Get” served as Gillette’s mantra and brand identity for thirty years, positioning their razors as the premium choice for men. Then suddenly, in early 2019, the tagline was given a face lift with a 21st century point of view.
“Is this the best a man can get?” asks a voiceover in Gillette’s advertisement launched on January 14th, 2019, while men are shown looking in the mirror, contemplating topics such as toxic masculinity, bullying, sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement. The ad shows boys chasing or fighting with other boys, and men standing around doing nothing. “Boys will be boys,” says one man after another, as if they have been brainwashed into thinking that type of behavior was OK.
The mood shifts, as a clip of actor, activist, and P&G pitch man, Terry Crews, is shown testifying during a hearing for the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act saying, “Men need to hold other men accountable.”
A narrator delivers the core message of the advertisement.
“Bullying is a problem, we can’t hide from it. Sexual harassment is taking over — it’s been going on for far too long. We can’t laugh it off, making the same old excuses. But something finally changed. And there will be no going back. Because we, we believe in the best in men. To say the right thing. To act the right way. Some already are, in ways big and small. But some is not enough. Because the boys watching today, will be the men of tomorrow.”
“It’s only by challenging ourselves to do more, that we can get closer to our best,” the spot concludes.
Gillette’s new ad coincided with the launch of a social responsibility campaign called “The Best Men Can Be,” focused on promoting “positive, attainable, inclusive and healthy versions of what it means to be a man.” As part of the campaign, Gillette committed $1 million per year over three years to “non-profit organizations executing the most interesting and impactful programs designed to “help men of all ages achieve their personal best,” according to the brand’s website. Their first beneficiary was the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Pankaj Bhalla, the North American brand director for Gillette, told The Atlantic magazine, “The intention was not to be political at all.” Instead, Bhalla cited pressure from Millennial and Gen Z shoppers for the shift towards socially conscious advertising. “I think it is important to stand for more than the product’s benefit that you provide, and I think that’s the expectation of our younger audiences,” Bhalla said.
But why were Millennial and Gen Z shoppers putting brands to the test from a social ethics and values standpoint? Peggy Simcic Brønn, a professor of communication and culture at the Norwegian Business School in Oslo who has tracked social-responsibility marketing for more than two decades, suggested to The Atlantic that a decrease in trust of public institutions has left a void that younger consumers are expecting brands to fill. “NGOs and governmental institutions, which we depend on to address bad things, they’re not doing it. So who’s left to do it? That’s business,” said Brønn.
The Atlantic concluded that what these marketing efforts have helped to do is to rebrand capitalism in a time when young people are questioning its efficacy. “If we want the world to survive, we have to think about the humans in it, not just selling products and making money,” said Brønn. She’s hopeful these marketing efforts are an indication that brands are sincere in their desire to be better global citizens.
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In this article series, I share excerpts and stories from my book, 3-Win Sponsorship. I hope you enjoyed this post — if you want to connect you can reach me via email — john@thirdwin.com — or connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn. Also, you can also find my book on Amazon.
