old spice advert
‘Old Spice’ is a advertisement about aftershave primarily targeted at the male customers. This particular advert is to attract a more older audience to purchase this product.
Sound
Throughout the advert the sounds that are portrayed are ‘diegetic ‘ and ‘non-diegetic’, in the sense that you can see where the sound is coming from, e.g. the water dripping from the shower, it is visible and yet you can hear the sound, more profoundly known as diegetic sounds. The sound of the wind blowing as he is on the boat is non- diegetic as you can hear the sound and not see it. The use of sound in this advert is natural except for when the man is on the boat as there is a clear use of CGI involved.
Editing
From analyzing this advert the editing in this is at a minimum. Everything apart from the scene on the beach and on the boat is real footage with a real bathroom. The bathroom contains a real shower with water coming out of it proving that the shower is a real accessory, as said previously the sound of the water coming out of the shower is all in real time. The scene where the beach and the boat is clearly edited as the editors and designers have used the concept of ‘CGI’. The part where the old spice product comes out of his hand from the scattered shell is edited as its OBVIOUSLY not real because it is not possible! Also when the shell opens on its own and provides ‘two free tickets’ for the supposed customer, this is all edited.
Analysis
In an ordinary tile bathroom stands a confident man with a charismatic, handsome face but more noticeably, a toned, strong body, apparent to the eye, as a sole towel is the only thing slung around his hips. Radiating like a glowing god against the backdrop of the faded, muted colored bathroom, the Old Spice Man, ready to any second drop his towel and jump into the running steaming hot shower, encompasses the image behind the motive of sex appeal. Also an enticing element of the ad’s use of sex appeal is the Old Spice Man maintaining eye contact with the camera therefore the audience, enticing the women and engaging in a connection to her. He asks the women watching to look at their man. Then look back at him. Then back at their man. And again back at him. With this comparison, the ad is trying to get the women watching to notice that the man sitting next to them is most likely not the muscular, good-looking Old Spice Man in the ad. He is not this sexy man half naked; he isn’t manly. Pathos is key as this realization sparks feelings of repulsion towards their man and desire for him to be like the man in the ad.
As the ad continues on the boat, the man continues to be shirtless, continuously exhibiting the sex appeal however it is extended to a successful approach, as he is able to provide any women’s wishes. Unlike the Axe ads where hot teenage boys are swooned over by overly made-up models, the Old Spice ad invokes a successful, strong sexy that is that of a true man. The feelings resulting from this appeal are crucial as it is through the continuous engagement and sex appeal of the half naked, successful manly, man that the women viewers realize they want this to be their man. If their man smells like the Old Spice Man he will be like the Old Spice Man and therefore be as attractive, successful, and manly as the caricature of the “perfect” manly man. The women watching want him and the men want to be him.
Strongly correlated with the sex appeal throughout the commercial, pathos can also be seen within the commercial’s use of humor and exaggeration with the goal to get the audience to chuckle along with realize although an extreme case, maybe better things will actually come with the use of Old Spice. The lasting image within the audience’s mine is most likely the final shot with the shirtless, confident man holding an Old Spice body wash container sitting atop a pristine, white horse. This isn’t exactly a common sight and quite frankly is a little ridiculous, however, it sticks in the minds of the viewers. The Old Spice Man, posing with his hand on his hip as the words “Smell Like a Man, Man” appear and freeze on the screen makes the viewers laugh as of course this ultimate man would be perched on a horse, ready to pull a Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset with is princess. Yet that’s the appeal; although laughing at how ridiculous it seems viewers feel as though they have the potential of being swept off their feet by a true man if they enhance their man’s manliness with Old Spice body wash. With being fun, extreme, and humorous, the ad campaign is making a brilliant move away from the presumptions that Old Spice is for old people and associations it has with being “grandfatherly”. With this humorous creative spin the ad, therefore the entire Old Spice product, is moving towards a young fresh, humorous look appealing to their broad audience of men and women.
The foundation of the effectiveness of the persuasion within the campaign is the commonplaces it encompasses. Society plants certain ideals into our perceptions and beliefs, which can mold all our viewpoints into a certain norm, especially in the genre of gender and sexuality such as in this advertisement. In terms of gender in society, there is this common belief that men have to be this image of “manly”; the commonplace is all men have to be “manly”. Many times the phrase, “be a man”, is demanded by fathers across the nation to their sons whenever they do something seen as girly or weak. This is implemented when the Old Spice Man states your man could smell like the Old Spice Man (a true man) if he, “stopped using lady scented body wash and switched to Old Spice”. This enforces the idea of stop being a girl, toughen up, and be a man. The essence of this image is embodied through the Old Spice Man, former football player and extremely handsome man, where his deep voice, muscles, confidence, and ability to provide anything imaginable fits perfectly into society’s view of a true man. This idea of a manly man is commonly desired by women as there is the commonplace that women find “manly”, muscular men attractive. With the Old Spice Man embracing this stereotypical ideal, the motive is to appeal to the women and have them relate this manliness to the use of the product therefore enforcing the men in their life to use the Old Spice body wash.
The commercial’s main theme through the entire campaign, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, is drawing attention from the women audience, to appealing to them, and to gaining their sales as well as their push for the men to buy Old Spice products. The advertisement does this by constructing the audience. By directly referring to the women viewing the commercial and continuously target that audience through actively engaging as well as appealing to women, the commercial holds the attention of the women viewers who otherwise would have no interest in solely men’s products. The commercial is crafty in its approach as it shows that women will be benefiting from their man using the product. It is all about how the women will gain, leading to an appeal from the women due to self-benefits and perks.
By establishing a connection to the women by off the back addressing them directly and continuously asking them to participate by looking certain ways and at certain things, the women feel in the moment. They are thrown into the situation and scene as the Old Spice Man refers to the women audience as “you” in phrases like “you’re on a boat” and “What’s in your hand? I have it it’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love”, and overall makes the entire situation relatable and directly connected to the women audience. The women are forced to imagine themselves as the lucky women to have a manly man that uses Old Spice. They want this fantasy.
Shueb Islam 