Can you spot the irony in this picture?

P&G's men's grooming brand Gillette has been in the news of late for its international spot that challenges toxic masculinity and implores men to call out other men who misbehave with women and each other. But that's not what this article is about.

We're giving heavy, gender-themed discussions a skip and taking quick note of an image we spotted on LinkedIn (displayed in this article). As the author of the post (chief imagination officer of a PR firm called Atharva Marcom) writes on the professional networking platform “Irony is when your sponsor is a shaving company, And all the players have beards! #brandalignment #WeDoGreatPR”

While most of the comments that followed lauded his observation skills, some came to the defense of the brand saying 'Gillette sponsored the tournament (recently concluded bilateral ODI series played against and in Australia), not the team'.

Just for the record... of course the brand, title sponsor of the tournament, is not responsible for the amount of facial hair the players sport. But the irony in this picture is not lost on us either.

The brand team, that has run memorable campaigns called 'Shave India Movement' and 'Shave-athon' in the past, sure has some deep thinking and beard scratching to do over this one.