‘Hey Gillette does this offend you?!’ Dad responds to viral ad by posing with gun for family photo

‘I’ll raise my kids the way I believe they should be’

Facebook (Gillette)

An American father has posted a mocking response to Gillette’s viral ad targeting toxic masculinity by posing with a gun alongside his three young children.

Blaze TV host Graham Allen uploaded the controversial snap on Facebook, writing “Hey Gillette does this offend you? I’ll raise my kids the way I believe they should be… thanks for your advice” before signing off with his name and an emoji of the US flag.

The Gillette campaign video, titled “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be” and released on 13 January, called on men to resist conforming to negative and stereotypically masculine tropes such as bullying, violence, mansplaining.

It also addressed the #MeToo movement, urging men to intervene in instances of sexual harassment.

The short film polarised the internet, with some people praising the razor brand for its progressive message while others found it insulting to men.

Allen’s post suggests he sits in the latter camp.

It has garnered more than 30,000 shares on Facebook so far, with thousands of people offering up their thoughts on his stance in the comments section.

While a handful of people concurred that Allen was right to poke fun at Gillette’s message, the majority argued that he had missed the point of the ad altogether.

“The Gillette commercial was geared towards bullies and men who don’t treat women and other people right. Nothing wrong with calling out those people,” one person wrote.

Another pointed out that Gillette hadn’t actually addressed gun control in its ad: “That commercial was about raising boys to not be bullies and sexually harrass women [...] said nothing about guns.”

Others argued that Allen’s photo reinforces the harmful gender stereotypes the ad was targeting, given that he and his two male children are the ones holding guns, while his young daughter remains unarmed.

“The fact that his daughter does not have one of those guns in her hand tells me that they took this picture to give the impression that she shouldn’t be messed with because she has armed males around her. THAT thinking IS toxic,” wrote one person.

Another added: “Specifically not putting a gun in her hand because she is a girl is the definition of what that commercial was about.

“It was to call out people who don’t understand equality of the sexes and pushing the ‘that’s for boys’ mentality on of people.”

The Independent has contacted Allen for a comment