Just about everyone has already criticized and commented on the Gillette “We Believe” video from Procter & Gamble and Grey, but MultiCultClassics will cut into the conversation regardless.
Back in 2013, after Wieden + Kennedy was eliminated from the shootout for the Gillette account—leaving Saatchi & Saatchi, Grey and then-incumbent BBDO as contenders—MultiCultClassics remarked that the razor brand was obviously not interested in doing creative work. The “We Believe” video confirms the contention.
First of all, Grey is a White advertising agency, despite being led by a Black man. The cultural cluelessness has been evidenced by the shop’s generational segregation, Grey Executive Strategy Director Howard Roberts sputtering divertsity psychobabble, Grey Worldwide Chief Creative Officer John Patroulis spitting up socioeconomic stupidity and Grey London CEO Leo Rayman admitting our industry lies about minority underrepresentation. With the contrived and heavy-handed “We Believe” video, Grey shows it’s woefully unqualified to even represent White men.
Procter & Gamble is equally ignorant, as well as patronizingly offensive. The advertiser has a renowned penchant for messaging formulas, and the “We Believe” video follows a disturbing blueprint last seen with “The Talk” and “#LoveOverBias.” The formula goes something like this: White corporation + questionable commitment to diversity + hypocritical call to harmony + White advertising agency production + big budget versus crumbs = pathetic bullshit that wins ADCOLOR® Award.
It doesn’t help that Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard confesses his cultural competence is crappy. Plus, he’s quick to jump on bandwagons—and will undoubtedly soon approve anti-ageism advertisements for Fixodent.
In summation, when exclusively White advertisers partner with exclusively White advertising agencies to deliberately deliver diversity-related duplicity designed to drive sales of consumer goods—as well as shamelessly promote false enlightenment—everyone should take offense. For the people behind “We Believe” to profess beliefs that run counter to actions is, well, unbelievable.
Here's some trivia. A company like Procter & Gamble can proclaim themselves masters of diversity and puff their chests up about how many billions of dollars they've spent with minority businesses. But if anyone bothered to hold them accountable for the numbers, they'd discover that Procter's spending is almost entirely comprised of white women, who they count as minorities.
ReplyDeleteWhich means their We Believe diversity BS is as thin as their belief in diversity for anyone other than white women.