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Gillette Still Believes; PayPal Brings Back the CMO |
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CMO Today's article on Gillette’s #MeToo embrace (“Is this the best a man can get?” its ad asks) got more than a thousand reader comments. Many people promised to stop buying Gillette products, arguing that the ad scolded men unfairly. So here’s the question for CMO Today subscribers in particular: Did Gillette help its brand and its sales with this move? Reply with your take, which I may edit, and I’ll feature a few of the responses on Wednesday. Make sure to include your name and location.
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PHOTO: PROCTER & GAMBLE
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Gillette says it has no intention of pulling “We Believe,” its ad challenging men to end bullying and harassment, in the face of some negative reactions. (“The video is sad and depressing while putting ALL men in a bad light,” one Twitter user wrote. “Men aren’t just waking up to bad things that are going on. There have always been good men. Bad ones too, yes, but the same can be said about women.”)
“We recognize it’s sparking a lot of passionate dialogue—at the same time, it’s getting people to stop and think about what it means to be our best selves, which is the point of the spot,” said Pankaj Bhalla, Gillette brand director for North America, in an emailed statement.
Some people have defended the ad. “It celebrates the awesome men in our lives,” a fan said on Twitter.
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PHOTO: ALLISON JOHNSON
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PayPal has named Allison Johnson executive vice president and chief marketing officer, reviving a post that disappeared from the company in 2013.
Ms. Johnson was vice president of world-wide marketing communications at Apple Inc. from 2005 through 2011 and was previously a senior marketing executive at HP Inc. She was most recently a founder and managing partner at West, which she described as a hybrid marketing and venture-capital firm.
PayPal’s CEO told me it is creating products that let it work with many players in the digitization of money. “The real war is a little less between companies, and it’s more a war on cash,” he said.
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Jason Bateman waves a towel during the National League Division Series last fall. PHOTO: BRIAN ROTHMULLER/ZUMA PRESS
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Celebrity appearances surged in last year’s Super Bowl ads, but it’s not clear yet how much of Hollywood will show up for this year’s game.
Jason Bateman will appear in Hyundai’s ad, the marketer said Monday, joining a confirmed big-game ad roster so far that also includes... Luke Wilson for Colgate and the Persil ProClean guy, as Ad Age points out. It’s still early, though, and Avocados From Mexico, Kia and others will undoubtedly deliver stars of one caliber or another. Amy Schumer kicked off the NFL season by promising not to do a Super Bowl spot to support Colin Kaepernick in his dispute with the
league.
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Take-Two will pay the NBA and its players’ union up to $1.1 billion over seven years to keep making its NBA 2K videogame franchise and other NBA-branded games, a window into the steep costs videogame makers can face in securing star power for their sports games. [WSJ]
JC Penney is looking for its third top marketer in four years after Marci Grebstein parted ways with the company. [Ad Age]
NBCUniversal will join the battle royale among streaming services with an ad-supported product next year, but has a plan to gain wide reach quickly: The service will be free to cable subscribers that receive NBCU channels. [WSJ]
Sun-Maid is launching its first ad in over a decade as it looks to win back younger consumers who apparently aren't eating raisins any more. [Business Insider]
“Cut the Wire,” a game for kids 6 and up in which players race to defuse a toy bomb, has been discontinued in North America amid criticism. [The New York Times]
Former Beam Suntory CMO Kevin George is joining cannabis company Harvest Health and Recreation as CMO. [Ad Age]
Speaking of cannabis: Facing strict advertising rules on digital platforms, weed brands are instead using merchandise and events to market themselves. [Digiday]
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