When Harry’s co-founders and chief executive officers Andy Katz-Mayfield and Jeff Raider began developing their company, they faced a timely challenge: how to market products for men—in this case, razors and grooming products—when cultural views on what it means to be a man were shifting.
They opted against the chiseled jawlines and buff torsos seen in many razor ads for their short film “A Man Like You,” which debuted online Feb. 26. Produced in conjunction with The Representation Project, the three-minute video is a poignant tale about a mysterious visitor who discovers through the help of a young boy how to be a man. The visitor’s journey to manhood prompts an epiphany for the boy: “There’s no one way to be a man.”
Both Katz-Mayfield and Raider were on hand to mark the release of “A Man Like You” with a March 7 screening and panel discussion in New York, hosted by Harry’s and WP BrandStudio. Katz-Mayfield told attendees he and Raider hope the film will facilitate a conversation around the “complicated, relevant and timely” topic of masculinity—as well as encourage consumers to think about manhood outside of a stereotypical “man box.”
“When we talk about the rules of being a real man, those rules aren’t just handed to us on a sheet of paper. They’re pounded into us daily.”
After “A Man Like You” was shown, Katz-Mayfield joined former professional football player and activist Wade Davis, The Good Men Project’s senior editor Mark Greene, A CALL TO MEN chief executive officer Tony Porter and Everyday Girl Dad writer Mike Reynolds for an engaging, hour-long discussion. Moderated by comedian Pete Lee, the panel—called “The Changing Face of Masculinity” —found participants sharing their thoughts on breaking down gender roles, pushing back against stereotypes and the impact of masculine identity in advertising, as well as in popular culture at large.
“When we talk about the rules of being a real man, those rules aren’t just handed to us on a sheet of paper. They’re pounded into us daily,” said Greene. “Until we open up our definition of manhood much broader to include as many versions of manhood as there are men, men are going to continue to confront this question of ‘Am I man enough?’”
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