While the brand is admitting that it's reversing course on the social issues messaging, Gillette is presenting its new focus as simply a return to what it's always done. "We will continue to represent men at their best," Gillette said in a statement reported by
News Corp Australia. Instead of the "social issues" focus, the brand will begin to highlight positive portrayals of "heroic" masculinity, as seen in its new ad starring Ben Ziekenheiner, an Australian firefighter and personal trainer.
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The
backlash to the scolding and sexist ad was swift and strong, with many Gillette users taking to social media to announce they were done with the brand. For the next few months, Gillette responded by doubling down on the social justice messaging, releasing a
"fat acceptance" ad as well as an ad showing a father's first time teaching his
female-to-male transgender child how to shave.
But as
The Daily Wire reported, seven months after rolling out its "toxic" campaign, Gillette's parent company Procter & Gamble found itself taking an $8 billion writedown for the brand. Despite positive performance overall for Procter & Gamble Co., who enjoyed better than expected profits last quarter, the company ended up reporting a net loss of over $5 billion. The reason: Gillette's nosedive.
"Procter & Gamble Co’s (PG.N) quarterly revenue and adjusted profit beat Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, sending shares to a record-high even as the world’s No.1 personal goods company took an $8 billion charge on its Gillette shaving business,"
Reuters reported in late July. Procter & Gamble "reported a net loss of about $5.24 billion, or $2.12 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, due to an $8 billion non-cash writedown of Gillette," the news agency explained.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/5091...potlight-after-losing-8-billion-james-barrett
