'Boys will be boys': A study on men's perceptions of Gillette's (2019) commercial

Abstract

After the #MeToo movement began to spread globally in 2017, the representation of men has been deeply discussed in the media. The term ‘toxic masculinity’ gained mainstream media exposure. Subsequently, in January 2019, men’s shaving brand Gillette came up with a commercial that interrogates the traditional or masculine depiction of men. This resulted in an ongoing discussion whether Gillette crossed a line regarding the representation of masculinity in its commercial. Although some men supported the commercial, many men felt offended and threatened to boycott the brand. The aim of the present study is to explore whether there is a difference in perceptions of Gillette’s commercial between men in the Netherlands (feminine society) and Germany (masculine society), using Hofstede’s dimension of masculinity versus femininity. The author endeavors to obtain a greater understanding of the perceptions of the commercial in masculine and feminine societies, and assesses the applicability of Hofstede’s theory. To examine this, the researcher has created categories and questions based on Hofstede’s distinction between the two types of societies, after which a survey was conducted among 16 Dutch and 16 German men. Two out of 24 questions/statements showed a significant difference between Dutch and German men, implying that this study does not represent Hofstede’s distinction between feminine and masculine societies. The current study has been an essential step in assessing society-based perceptions of commercials and to determine whether Hofstede’s theory and earlier research on masculinity and femininity within ads are applicable here.