Gillette made headlines earlier this year by releasing an ad during the Super Bowl that revolved around toxic masculinity. The response was mixed, with many saying there isn’t anything toxic about being a manly man.
Now, the company is tackling the body positivity movement by releasing a new ad for their Venus razor line that features a plus size model.
They followed up that tweet with this message:
“Venus is committed to representing beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, and skin types because ALL types of beautiful skin deserve to be shown. We love Anna because she lives out loud and loves her skin no matter how the “rules” say she should display it.”
Venus is committed to representing beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, and skin types because ALL types of beautiful skin deserve to be shown. We love Anna because she lives out loud and loves her skin no matter how the “rules” say she should display it 💙
— Gillette Venus (@GilletteVenus) April 4, 2019
People were not feeling the message though, saying it instead tells people it’s ok to be morbidly obese.
Encourage help for obese people, dont validate their lifestyle. I'm overweight, its not healthy. Help them, don't tell them this is okay. https://t.co/trndTNUfwi
— Monsta ~ (@ItsMonsta_) April 5, 2019
1/3 of the world population is obese today. That's 3-4x more than 45 years ago. And during that 45 years, the world population also grew by over 3 billion (almost double). That's honestly insane.. like those numbers should be absolutely terrifying to us all. https://t.co/wK0DR3BGu3
— Trill Clinton (@W0lt0nCy3nd) April 5, 2019
Would you use an anorexic woman to champion your commitment to "representing beautiful women of all shapes, sizes, & skin types cuz all types of beautiful skin deserves to be shown"?
I am no size 0 but there's a fine line in celebrating curvy & romanticising obesity.#Gillette https://t.co/bF4SpcDMh1
— Shamini.M.R (@Not_A_Shammer) April 5, 2019
Others praised the company for representing all women in their advertising.
This does NOT encourage obesity, people don't look and go fuuuuck actually I'm going to go and actively put on weight. It's just accepting that different bodies and people exist and I hope everyone who posts shitty comments doesn't drink or smoke or do drugs https://t.co/nznk1sITTn
— Talie (@TalieDelemere) April 5, 2019
I applaud @GilletteVenus for breaking the mould. I'm appalled at the comment thread. People can be unbelievable cruel when hiding behind a mobile or computer screen. They clearly don't live by The Golden Rule. 😢 #Marketing https://t.co/RzksmqXe2S
— Carolyn Wilman (@IdeaMajesty) April 5, 2019
Go out there and slay the day 💪🏼 📸 Glitter + Lazers pic.twitter.com/cIc0R3JfpR
— Gillette Venus (@GilletteVenus) April 3, 2019