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Cary Caruso

Professor Granillo

English 103

26 May 2019

Multimodal Project Outline

I. Introduction

A. Thesis

Gillettes commercial “The Best Men Can Be” creates the argument that toxic masculinity

has been accepted for far too long amongst men and that it is time to put it to an end. However,

the company’s claim is too vague and does not accurately portray all men; Gillette’s use of

pathos and ethos create a compelling argument that men have become a strain in society, but

their logos does not provide real statistical evidence making the argument fall short and causes a

glittering generality. Through a feminist lens, we also begin to see the idea of putting a stop to

the male gaze also come into play, thus Gillette is making a persuasive yet flawed argument

causing mixed responses from their audience because of the ambiguity.

II. Literature Review

A. Background of Advert

Gillette was established in 1901 and has had a strong support of men buying their

products ever since. “The Best Men Can Be” was an advertisement aired live on

television during the 2019 Super Bowl addressing toxic masculinity towards

younger generations. Gillette’s claim is that males for many generations have both

been guilty of toxic masculinity and also allowing it to happen, which they
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support the cause to end toxic masculinity. Throughout this ad, they use a lot of

pathos, ethos, and logos to try to create a persuasive argument to try and create

further support towards ending toxic masculinity.

B. Counterargument

The advertisement claims that men are bad for society, but with change, they can

help created a better society and stop all these negative things occuring in society

today such as sexual harassment, bullying, and the objectifying patriarchy that has

been prominent in the past. The idea that standing up for what is right will end

this toxic masculinity that has been going on for generations.

III. Subtopic One - Pathos

A. Mood

Topic Sentence: Gillette sets the mood with guilt throughout the commercial to

try and influence men to change the standards in today’s society.

Transition: The background audio in the beginning and the loaded questions

asked throughout the commercial is meant to create guilt.

Evidence: “The Best Men Can Be” by Gillette, the opening scene. (We Believe:

The Best Men Can Be 00:00:00-00:00:08)

Analysis: Gillette is associating many problems within society and is blaming

toxic masculinity which creates guilt towards males.

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Warrant: The effect of guilt can be very effective and will influence people to try

and change it to help make themselves feel better and relieve the guilt.

IV. Subtopic Two - Ethos

A. Speaker and Gillette

Topic Sentence: Ethos credibility is shown through both the narrator and Gillette.

Transition. Gillette is a company intended for men and the speaker is a masculine

voice which convinces the audience that males do need to change as the speaker

himself is admitting it.

Evidence: The speaker is very serious about the topic and makes it sound

anecdotal (We Believe: The Best Men Can Be 00:00:00-00:01:48).

Analysis: The narrator adds credibility by admitting an issue that is caused by

males and then is talking about changes and Gillette adds credibility by admitting

problems from their own main supporters.

Warrant: Ethos is very effective in making an argument because something as

simple as who is saying something or what they are asking of can have a very big

impact on how trustworthy a source is.

V. Subtopic Three - Logos

A. Common Phrases and Examples

Topic Sentence: Gillette provides real life situations and also common phrases

used to give a logical argument to support their commercial.

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Evidence: Throughout the video the lines,“bullying, the Me Too movement

against sexual harassment, toxic masculinity” and “boys will be boys” (We

Believe: The Best Men Can Be 00:00:02-00:00:38).

Analysis: The anecdotal evidence provides the audience with evidence using

examples of real life problems which Gillette associates with toxic masculinity.

Warrant: The problems such as bullying, sexual harassment, and

VI. Subtopic Four - Feminist Lens

Topic Sentence: Gillette focuses on ending toxic masculinity, but also shed light to

feminism and improving the way women are treated.

Transition: The commercial uses scenes involving both women and toxic masculinity

implying that toxic masculinity results in the depreciation of women in society.

Evidence: The office worker talks over the woman saying “what I actually think she’s

trying to say” (We Believe: The Best Men Can Be 00:00:28-00:00:33).

Analysis: Using toxic masculinity and then brushing on the scenarios using women

enlightens them and is pushing towards women’s rights and movements.

Warrant: Getting rid of toxic masculinity would better society in more ways than just

making men better, it would also make women more valued in society.

VII. Conclusion

A. Restate Thesis: Gillette is using pathos, ethos, logos, and looking through a

feminist lens, we begin to see the reason why. Although the intended audience

may have felt targeted, the company is just trying to create a better society by

pointing out things that need to be stopped.

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B. Summary of the Subtopics: Pathos is used to guilt people into supporting their

claim, ethos is used to help convince and convey that people should feel obligated

to help, and logos uses anecdotal examples as to what men should be stopping. In

addition to this, the feminist lens adds on to the idea that women would become

more valued in our society if this was achieved which is why there should be

support in the cause of ending toxic masculinity.

C. The way things are displayed can heavily affect the results. Although Gillette

created a very compelling claim, they showed how an argument can anger people

the way it was expressed. While the ideas are very effective, the way they were

portrayed angered many people.