“ Look at your man, now back to me” is said at the opening of the commercial, as it sets a comical tone for the advertisement and draws the viewers’ interest. The relatively new company, Old Spice, founded in 1990 uses their new commercial series to promote their American brand of male grooming products. Old Spice in the past has focused on targeting middle aged to elderly men in their advertisement campaigns. This new series of advertisements is trying to reach to a new target audience of twenty to forty year old males.
This advertisement is attempting to create a memorable impression to the viewer through appealing to pathos, logos and ethos. It attempts to gain customers through the characterization of the attractive male presented in the advertisement. The Old Spice commercials have gained an inside on the market by presenting their commercials’ around the image of perfection. Through the use of Old Spice, a man may feel as if anything is attainable. The idea of obtaining Old Spice is also shown as being easy and men may be immediately attracted to the benefits such as taking ladies out and feeling refreshed.
This commercial relays its’ message through the incorporation of humor, rather then stating in a matter of fact method. It cleverly points out several benefits of using the product by the characterization of the good-looking male and ideal settings in the background. The main goal of the commercial comes to be that using Old Spice allows men to obtain what is presented as the unattainable such as “ tickets to that thing you love” and diamonds for women. The commercial targets men in the age group between twenty and thirty.
It does not specifically target a rich clientele, but makes Old Spice seen as a product that is available for all males. Through the use of the male, the commercial expects the viewers to trust the man’s judgment through comparing themselves and what they could be. The comparison between the average man and the man in the commercial shows how the commercial is trying to portray the attractive male as ideal through the use of Old Spice. The use of humor is incorporated in the commercial by making the audience laugh at the trivial statements that the male said throughout the commercial.
The sarcastic tone that the man in the commercial uses draws the audience in and makes them want to watch more. When the man says “ sadly he isn’t me, but if he stopped using lady scented body wash, he could smell like me”, this provides a satiric commentary how the average man might not be as attractive as the man in the commercial, but he can at least smell as good as him. Along with this the, random statements that the male makes such as “ You’re on the boat with the man your man could smell like” and “ I’m on a horse” said at the end of the commercial keep the audience laughing and also attentive till the culmination.
The marketing strategy by putting random statements and the sarcastic tone of the male proves to be effective by making the audience wondering what the man is saying till the end of the commercial. The company displays its credibility through the characterization of the male in the commercial. The male presented in this show is an individual with a chiseled, and very sculpted body and face. He is very well kempt and speaks in a higher level of dialect. The male can represent an evolved human being and the commercial tries to convey that since this man uses Old Spice and has everything, the common man can do the same.
Since the man in the commercial who is portrayed as the ideal uses Old Spice, any many can use it. The average man is more likely to use Old Spice since the man in the commercial does so. The credibility of this commercial increase with the use of the male and what he represents as perfect. The setting of the commercial starts off with the shower running and the attractive male in a towel and turns into this paradise- like setting. This setting provides an ideal setting to match the character within the commercial. The focus of the commercial comes to be on the male. The background scenery is neutral in both settings.
When the male presents the Old Spice bottle, it is a splash of color and the viewers’ eyes tend to be attracted more toward the bottle. The bottle draws attention away from the male and the background setting. This use of product placement and color contrast brought the bottle to be the center of attention of the commercial. The colors in the advertisement tend to be the same, but with the presentation of the bottle, the viewers’ eyes are opened. This draws a parallel to the use of the old Spice and the “ out of the world feeling” it produces. The bottle of Old Spice is shown two times within the commercial.
In these two times, it is shown it instills an image of the product inside the viewers’ mind. The male keeps the viewer engaged in the commercial by constantly drawing comparisons between himself and the audience. Along with this, the scene changes allow the contrast of the bottle to the scene to be made possible. With the slogan “ smell like a man, man” at the end of the commercial, the viewer is left questioning him and how Old Spice might affect him. The satiric nature, repetition of statements and ideal characterization of the male in the commercial makes it effective.
The company is striving to keep the attention of the viewer through the contrast of colors and constant comparisons between the audiences and how they can be like this man. This commercial series attracts customers in their target age of males in there the twenties and thirties by showing all they can have by applying Old Spice from diamonds to ticket to they show they have wanted to go to. This entertaining commercial draws the viewer by its comical nature and comparisons it draws to between the average and ideal man.
