Gillette's 'The Best Men Can Be' campaign vs their later 'First Shave' ad - night and day handling

I remember when that 2019 ad came out and people went NUTS. They lost like $8 billion in market value over 12 months. But earlier this year they dropped the 'First Shave' ad showing a dad teaching his son with down syndrome to shave and it was just wholesome with no agenda. Their apology approach was totally different too - the first one they doubled down, the second they just let it breathe. Anyone else notice how brands that try to make a statement get destroyed vs just showing real moments?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia5575d ago

My cousin works at a marketing firm and she told me they have a whole whiteboard now titled "Don't Be The Dad Shaving Ad" with a bunch of rules under it. The 2019 one felt like they were scolding people in a seminar, the new one just felt like watching a home video someone uploaded by accident. I think the difference is the second one doesn't feel like it's trying to sell you anything at all. Just a regular guy helping his kid out, which is basically what shaving ads should have been all along.

perry.evan5d ago

Did I mess up teaching my kid to shave so badly that Gillette made a whole ad about it?