Gender and the Economy

Tag: Marketing

Research briefs, news, and event recaps related to marketing.

  • “The Best a Man Can Be”: Gillette and toxic masculinity

    “The Best a Man Can Be”: Gillette and toxic masculinity

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    Overview

    Gillette’s 2019 ad campaign and corporate giving initiative, “The Best a Man Can Be”, aimed to tackle toxic masculinity. It was met with strong reactions of both backlash and support. What led Gillette, the king of masculine brands, to create a campaign intended to spark conversations about this topic? Was it a flop or a success? 

    Course Topics:
    • Marketing
    • Gender Analysis
    • Diversity and inclusion in business
    • Corporate social responsibility  

    Introduction:

    January 13, 2019 is a day that razor brand Gillette’s executives will not soon forget. It was on this day that the 100-year-old brand released a 1-minute-and-48-second short film entitled “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be”. Filled with references to toxic masculinity, bullying, and sexual harassment, the video directly confronts social issues brought to the forefront of public consciousness by the #MeToo movement in October 2017, two years prior to its release. Gillette had intended for the film to serve as an advertisement promoting the launch of their new corporate giving initiative “The Best a Man Can Be,” a three-year commitment to donate $1 million per year “to non-profit organizations executing the most interesting and impactful programs designed to help men of all ages achieve their personal best.”  However, rather than widespread public adulation for a campaign designed to support men—Gillette’s core consumer base—in tackling complex social issues, the video’s release was met with a mixed reaction including, initially, an overwhelmingly negative response on social media, where many claimed they would never purchase Gillette products again. Despite receiving praise for the video and “The Best a Man Can Be” campaign overall, the social media backlash made Gillette’s decision appear to the causal viewer to be a massive misstep. Had the century-old, market-leading razor company entirely misunderstood their target customer? In the aftermath of the “We Believe” video’s release, two questions come to mind: What led Gillette, the king of masculine brands, to decide to create a video intended to spark productive and long overdue conversations about toxic masculinity and sexual harassment? And, was the campaign really a flop?       

    View and download the full case study.

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    __________________________

    This case was written by:

    This case was written by Victoria Sahagian and Ana Baseio. The authors prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Sarah Kaplan, with guidance from Alyson Colón, Bonnie Lam and Vanessa Serra Iarocci and research assistance from Carmina Ravanera.

    [/fusion_text][fusion_separator style_type=”none” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” flex_grow=”0″ top_margin=”10″ bottom_margin=”10″ width=”” alignment=”center” border_size=”” sep_color=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” /][fusion_button link=”https://www.gendereconomy.org/education/case-studies/” text_transform=”” title=”” target=”_blank” link_attributes=”” alignment_medium=”” alignment_small=”” alignment=”” modal=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” color=”custom” button_gradient_top_color=”#62bd19″ button_gradient_bottom_color=”#62bd19″ button_gradient_top_color_hover=”#00c2e2″ button_gradient_bottom_color_hover=”#00c2e2″ accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” type=”” bevel_color=”” border_color=”” border_hover_color=”” size=”” stretch=”yes” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]See more case studies[/fusion_button][fusion_separator style_type=”none” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” flex_grow=”0″ top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ width=”” alignment=”center” border_size=”” sep_color=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” /][fusion_recent_posts layout=”default” picture_size=”fixed” hover_type=”none” columns=”3″ number_posts=”3″ post_status=”” offset=”0″ pull_by=”category” cat_slug=”case-studies” exclude_cats=”” tag_slug=”” exclude_tags=”” thumbnail=”yes” title=”yes” meta=”no” meta_author=”no” meta_categories=”no” meta_date=”yes” meta_comments=”yes” meta_tags=”no” content_alignment=”” excerpt=”no” excerpt_length=”35″ strip_html=”yes” scrolling=”no” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” /][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • L’idée des croustilles pour femmes: un «test de marketing»?

    L’idée des croustilles pour femmes: un «test de marketing»?

  • The uses and abuses of storytelling

    The uses and abuses of storytelling

    Speaking at Digital Jove, a conference in Spain for digital creatives, Victoria Heath (GATE’s Digital Storyteller) examines the uses and abuses of storytelling and explains how we can be more responsible storytellers in the world of education and activism, particularly in regards to gender and diversity. In this presentation, she discusses a variety of storytelling examples from politics, education, advertising, and the news, and outlines six ways to tell stories more responsibly:

    1. Draw from truth and have integrity
    2. Understand your positionality and check your narrative
    3. Aim to change behaviour, not attitudes
    4. Provoke empathy, but give viewers a responsible action to take
    5. The narrative should frame the data, not the other way around
    6. Value your audience and engage with them
    Watch or listen to the full presentation below.

     

     

  • Gillette’s socially conscious message likely to get warm reception in Canada

    Gillette’s socially conscious message likely to get warm reception in Canada

  • Lady Doritos are a marketing test, not a mistake, say Canadian food experts

    Lady Doritos are a marketing test, not a mistake, say Canadian food experts

  • Gender pricing means women paying more than men

    Gender pricing means women paying more than men

    Companies always try to get the highest price for a product from customers, but they’re also exploiting stereotypes, says Sarah Kaplan, a professor of strategic management.

  • Andi Zeisler on Marketplace Feminism

    Andi Zeisler on Marketplace Feminism

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=”” type=”legacy”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”true” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_sizes_right=”” first=”true”][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hue=”” saturation=”” lightness=”” alpha=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” font_size=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_transform=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_color=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_delay=”0″ animation_offset=”” logics=””]Andi Zeisler, Co-founder and Creative/Editorial Director of Bitch Media, and author of We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to CoverGirl ®, the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement spoke on September 21, 2016.

    Event Synopsis: 

    Feminism has hit the big time. Once a dirty word brushed away with a grimace, “feminist” has been rebranded as a shiny label sported by movie and pop stars, fashion designers, and multi-hyphenate powerhouses like Beyoncé. It drives advertising and marketing campaigns for everything from wireless plans to underwear to perfume, presenting what’s long been a movement for social justice as just another consumer choice in a vast market. Individual self-actualization is the goal, shopping more often than not the means, and celebrities the mouthpieces.

    But what does it mean when social change becomes a brand identity?

    Feminism’s splashy arrival at the center of today’s media and pop-culture marketplace, after all, hasn’t offered solutions to the movement’s unfinished business. Planned Parenthood is under sustained attack, women are still paid 77 percent—or less—of the man’s dollar, and vicious attacks on women, both on- and offline, are utterly routine.

    Andi Zeisler, a founding editor of Bitch Media, draws on more than twenty years’ experience interpreting popular culture in this biting history of how feminism has been co-opted, watered down, and turned into a gyratory media trend. Surveying movies, television, advertising, fashion, and more, Zeisler reveals a media landscape brimming with the language of empowerment but offering little in the way of transformational change. Witty, fearless, and unflinching, We Were Feminists Once is the story of how we let this happen, and how we can amplify feminism’s real purpose and power.[/fusion_text][fusion_separator style_type=”none” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” sep_color=”” top_margin=”50″ bottom_margin=”50″ border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”center” /][fusion_button link=”https://www.gendereconomy.org/events/” text_transform=”” title=”” target=”_blank” link_attributes=”” alignment=”” modal=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” color=”custom” button_gradient_top_color=”#62bd19″ button_gradient_bottom_color=”#62bd19″ button_gradient_top_color_hover=”#00c2e2″ button_gradient_bottom_color_hover=”#00c2e2″ accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” type=”” bevel_color=”” size=”” stretch=”yes” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]See more past events[/fusion_button][fusion_separator style_type=”none” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” sep_color=”” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”center” /][fusion_title margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” hide_on_mobile=”medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” size=”5″ content_align=”center” style_type=”default” sep_color=””]

    Or register below for these upcoming events

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