Gillette CEO Gary Coombe tried to keep a straight face last week when saying that backlash to their “toxic masculinity” ad was “a price worth paying”. He added, “I don’t enjoy that some people were offended by the film and upset at the brand as a consequence.”

Take the time to read those words again; they may be as close as we get to an apology.

Procter & Gamble has reportedly taken an $8 billion write-down on its shaving business following that ad.

This could not have been the plan when they launched their “We Believe” campaign in January. Even the most biased ad exec would struggle to maintain the argument that there is no such thing as bad publicity now. The ad clocked up four million views on YouTube in just 48 hours – but the damage to the brand’s bottom line is undeniable.

Brand trust is cactus.

As backlash goes, blazing fury was peppered with inspired some tag lines that look set to last longer than the razor in anyone’s cupboard. “Get woke, go broke,” has now become embraced by popular vernacular.

But the real price of that rancid ad does not have a dollar figure.

Around the same time as Coombe was making his excuses, the head of one of Sydney’s top private schools warned that denying children access to their fathers when parents’ relationships break down can have negative impacts on children.

This man’s words did not clock up four million views in just 48 hours, sadly, as truth has to fight harder to be recognised than slogans.

The Nine Entertainment tabloids reported John Collier from St Andrews Cathedral School wrote in a newsletter to parents:

Presumably subconsciously, [some parents are] prepared to forfeit the interests of the child for the sake of tactical advantage in the ongoing battle with their ex-partner. When parents are at war with one another, my experience is that the child almost invariably suffers.

Unfortunately, while the sentiment of Collier’s words is pertinent, the fact is many parents are entirely conscious of the actions they take following a breakup.

What’s more, they are buoyed by trendy cultural misconceptions, which have become so brazenly emboldened that Gillette produced an ad hooked on an ideological mistruth.

Thank heavens the masses know better than self-appointed know-it-all’s who believe we need to see the light and voted with their wallets.

The real price of that Gillette ad is this relentless narrative that men and women must be at war; even when they’ve been so close they’ve created children together.

The real price tag is hateful division that’s ripping through chances of harmonious societies.

Add to that price soaring male suicide rates around the globe, parental alienation which is stealing children’s right to know unconditional love, and feral far left feminists cashing in a script they’ve managed to flog to powerful CEOs.

Senior marketer of the ad Marc Pritchard said Gillette wanted to “change the way people view the world.”

Well, in that case, he must prioritise a meeting with the Sydney school principal who can explain the immeasurable consequences of such a short film.

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