Corporations are notorious for spending hefty sums of money on advertising, but one ad campaign at razor company Gillette has cost the brand nearly $8,000,000,000.
Earlier this year the company unveiled an ad aimed at “toxic masculinity” followed by a Father’s Day commercial about a man teaching his “son” — a biological female who identifies as a male — to shave.
As a result, a lot of conservatives decided to ditch Gillette. Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins writes,
Conservative groups like One Million Moms activated, warning customers that unless they wanted their money to support an ideology Pediatricians call “child abuse,” they’d better find another razor.
Based on this quarter’s report, an astonishing number of Americans did. “P&G 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. For the same period last year,” Reuters explains, “P&G’s net income was $1.89 billion, or 72 cents per share.” At least for now, the company’s executives are refusing to blame their liberal politics. Instead, CFO Jon Moeller found another culprit: Beards. That’s right. P&G is actually writing off its monumental fail on the rise of facial hair. “Lower shaving frequency has reduced the size of the developed blades and razors market,” he tried to justify on a call with analysts.
Some shareholders might buy that, but most shoppers agree — it’s time for companies like Gillette to look in the mirror. Political activism never pays. Just look at the fanatics at Target and Nike, whose stocks took a nose-dive for offending Americans’ basic sense of decency and patriotism. Even so, some companies are pressing forward despite the fallout. Just last month, grocery giant Whole Foods surprised everyone by sponsoring drag queen story hour. Even Nabisco’s most famous cookies — Oreo and Chips Ahoy — have spent 2019 waving the transgender flag. But the reckoning isn’t just coming. It’s here.
A few weeks ago pro-LGBT groups began sounding the alarm after polling showed support for their movement has dropped among Millennials and older members of Generation Z.
All of this goes to show that companies ought to think twice before embracing the radical LGBT ideology and agenda.
