Old Spice has always been very straightforward in their advertising. They instantly shower you in what a man should be. He should always be in amazing shape, perfectly groomed, and they always target sex appeal. This ad originally appeared in the Sports Illustrated magazine which coincidentally is typically just targeted to men. Old spice is always perceived as a manly company because of their ads which always include extravagant endeavors, and manly qualities. This strikes a blow to the man’s ego causing him to think less of himself, and if he buys this product he will be more of a man. Old spice targets young men by appealing to their need of being seen as masculine.
In this ad, it shows a man with a seductive expression on his face as a mountain with a ski slope. Many people are either climbing the man or doing other winter sports off of him and there is a bikini woman in a hot tub. The main man of the ad is holding the product that is named “Matterhorn”
Let’s start with the main point of this ad. The mountain this man is portraying is Matterhorn which is also the name of the product itself; located on the Italian and Swiss border. It is one of the most dangerous mountains to climb which may lead to perceiving the man in the ad is “dangerous” which can be a sex appeal to women. This targets men by saying the bad boys use this product and you’ll get all the ladies and the raised eyebrow is saying you really think you can compete with this?
Using the work of Stewart Hirschberg, the ad is appealing to men through emotion and the “Value Warrant”. In this piece, it’s attacking the consumer’s wealth. According to Hirschberg, “The value warrant in these ads encourages the consumer to imagine that the purchase of the item will confer qualities associated with the background or activities of this upper-class world onto the consumer” (4). People skiing and mountain climbing is not a normal thing for average people to do. Most of the gear for these luxury sports, and the sports themselves can be very expensive.
There is also a seductive theme to a part of this work that can be noticed right away. The woman in the hot tub appears to be waiting for someone to join her. Using the work of Hirschberg “The kinds of associations audiences are encouraged to perceive reflect a broad range of “positive emotional appeals” that encourage the audience to find self-esteem through the purchase of a product that by itself offers a way to meet personal and social needs”. (3) Therefore, a man who uses this product may think that he will be more attractive, and have more of a chance with women. Hot tub’s themselves are often seen as romantic especially when there is just a couple in them.
A man holding a flag with the word success on it has reached the peak of the mountain. Beneath this man, you can see another man that is attempting to make it and another one that was not so fortunate. According to Hirschberg, this may also be a form of positive emotional appeal in the form of if you use the product you can achieve anything. Be the best man you can be. If you use this product you will and the ones that don’t use this product will fail.
The motto itself “Become one of the freshest smelling places on earth” is a strange motto but I’ve perceived it as a target to hygiene. Most people don’t want to be told that they smell bad so if they feel at the way they think perhaps if I use this product I too well smell amazing and be seen differently. They want to cause an insecurity amongst men, causing insecurity sells the product if consumers don’t have a need for a product they aren’t going to buy it. If there is no need for a product create one, such as what Listerine originally created with halitosis.
A Viking riding a two polar bear is another manly trait since Vikings are often seen in battle and were considered some of the fiercest men in history. The polar bears themselves are naturally aggressive animals which may say that this is resembling man conquering beast and asserting dominance.
The abominable snowman chasing the mountain climbers down the mountain one has been captured and will surely die however the one seems to be getting away perhaps he’s wearing old spice. This is an interesting piece most people and they go Mountain climbing especially children are told to watch out for the abominable snowman. The way his stance he appears to have leader like qualities, perhaps using this product Manly man can take on the abominable snowman.
The body washes itself is leathery and is symbolized by the snow covering his body. It appears to be just by the touch of the product it turns everything to snow, cleaning and refreshing the skin. The appearance on where the snow advertises that this product is good for both the body, facial hair, and the head. This has it so one product can do everything.
Most of what old spice is telling you is that using their product will make every aspect of your life better. Whether or not it’s your social life or your sexual life. Using their product will make you the man you want to be, which creates an issue with what truly makes a man masculine. This product is shaming its customers into buying their product there is no true definition of what a masculine person is just what society tells us it is. As long as Old Spice continues to advertise what “their” idea of masculinity is they will sell a product.