The Gillette #MeToo ad is PR, not an advertisement

The new Gillette ad is not an advert. It is a PR campaign.

The advertisement/movie entitled We Believe has been viewed over 3 million times in a couple of days. Far more views than the brand would get for some dad foaming up, or a celebrity combining sports skills with a quick shave. With appointment to view TV dead in the water, the brands need to find new ways to grab an audience. Pissing people off is just one way to achieve that.

The ad jumps into the #MeToo debate, tackles masculinity (toxic or paraben-free) and was always guaranteed to annoy everyone from Piers Morgan to, erm, Piers Morgan. It’s like a vegan sausage roll doused in soy. So, the snowflake cry-babies in the men’s movement and the type of cellar-dwelling mummy’s boxy who uses ‘cuck’ as supposedly a really hurtful insult are bound to get upset.

I’m standing up and applauding here. Calling your mates out on harassing women seems a good idea. But shifting your ad spend to PR seems an even better one.