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The Daily Outrage: January 16, 2019

Bryan Pocius

So I unfortunately got on social media again today and I see that the recent outrage and outrage about the outrage has to do with a commercial for razors. Ha!

So here’s how advertising works:

A bunch of brand executives and ad agencies get into a room with the singular purpose of figuring out how to sell More Stuff. They look at a lot of data points and divide people up into different demographics and behavioral cohorts and they look for an opportunity to target some set of those people with emotional messaging and capture that market. It’s pretty certain that gambling on potentially divisive social issues is actually pretty lucrative in a digital world. The more opinions and engagement, the better. Burn your Nikes! Its a great ad!

Historically, here’s one of the earliest precedents in leveraging social issues to sell more stuff. Check it out:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torches_of_Freedom

TL;DR: Lucky Strike and their agency didn’t care about women’s rights. At all. They cared about capturing a demographic to stick more cigarettes in their mouths at more times during the day.

You can take from Mad Men what you will, but did Don Draper have an epiphany about love and togetherness? Or did he hit on how to sell more coke? Hmmmm…

It’s an even better gamble for commodity brands when they predict that the demographic will only get larger. Gillette has made this bet.

Now here’s what advertising is not:

  • It is not a room full of “Cultural Marxists” hovering around the table nodding in approval
  • It is not a meeting about Che Guevara tactics and guerrilla warfare manuals
  • It is not part of a political plot to replace your right to freedom of speech and behavior
  • It is not a Howard Zinn read-a-thon and kvetching session about injustice.

No. Gillette is interested in selling razors. That’s what they hire the agency for. That’s the projected data they want to see. Dollars.

Now, if as a male you have a problem enough with the ad as to make public declarations about it’s offense, first of all you’re only feeding the beast and probably boosting sales.

But most importantly, its not Gillette you’re angry with. You’re angry about shifting cultural and social norms and your masculinity feels threatened. Why else would you care about an ad no one has forced you to watch and razors that no one has forced you to buy? I ask in earnest. What triggered you?

You seem to have allowed what others think about masculinity (or manly behavior?) affect you and your thinking with your emotional response.

I dare to proffer a single piece of advice to those people:

Grow a pair.