Rhetorical Analysis of an Ad Essay

Perfume advertisements, both in magazines and in television, involve selling more than just the scent. It taps into the human psyche and tries to sell the perfume by linking the brand with desirable ideas such as femininity, masculinity, love, passion, etc. Perfume advertisement usually tries to appeal to the other senses. It usually tries to sell sex by advertising with a beautiful and sexy model or a celebrity in a desirable location. Advertisers employ attractive people and use sex to grab attention and stimulate desire. Perfume advertisements evoke fantasy and offer a life

The commercial shown in figure 1 is for a perfume called ‘the one gentleman’ which Matthew Mcconaughey a well-known actor did for Dolce & Gabbana, a trade mark for designer products. The commercial tells us that this is a body spray to use when one wants to be seen as a gentleman. In reality a gentleman is not a man who just uses this body spray, but a man is seen as a gentleman by certain attributes society sees as being acceptable. Commercials like these can really have an impact because the viewer wants to look like the person with the body spray, and themselves be perceived as a gentleman. The unspoken

There are bodily hygiene advertisements in almost every magazine, TV station, radio station, billboards, and even postal mail. Every one of them is different and is trying to send a different message to a certain group that the product would most likely appeal to. The 0ctober 2011 issue number 1141 of Rolling Stone magazine there is an ad for Old spice men’s soaps, cologne, and deodorant that is a very interesting to the college age kids and music enthusiast that would normally read it. Through the advertisements use of layout and models, Old Spice has effectively caught the eyes of the many people that would stumble across it.

A women might appeal to the ad more because of the emotional thought of an ideal person she usually would date and this draws an immediate

Some ads also use similes, metaphors, personification, and onomatopoeia. The new ads show how men should use Old Spice by making crazy commercials while showing strong famous men. They also try to get women to buy Old Spice for their man by showing a hot man using the product and what their man could be like if he used Old Spice. Both these techniques like showing men doing crazy things like some men do and target the emotion in ladies to try and get their men more like the guy in the commercial have shown to increase sales. The most famous old Spice ad was the, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” and this ad showcased the stunning Isaiah Mustafa or commonly known as the Old Spice Man. In the commercial he is shown on a boat with diamonds or on a horse on an island. The actor states that if her man wore Old Spice he would be just like him, which was a form of logos. The pathos used against men is that men do crazy things and wearing Old Spice is for men who do crazy things. The pathos against women is that women want a civilized hot romantic man and the ads show that if they buy Old Spice for their man, he will be just that. The ethos was the company using hot and famous models to portray what their products does.

By depicting these men in this way, it sets a standard for how the typical man should look and act. It subconsciously makes the viewer believe that if they purchase said product, they will become more like the man who is shown. For example, if a man was insecure about being skinny with no facial hair, he would be more sold on a product if it was showcased by a confident, fit, and bearded man. That stereotype is mostly showcased in advertisements for workout accessories, outdoor appliances, and power tools. The bulkier and more “manly” an advertisement is, the more compelled the man is to feel the same way when using said product.

Authors can convey abstract ideas or non-existent characters to life with the assistance of rhetorical devices by communicating the nature of emotions to the intended audience. Allowing the audience to connect and relate with the abstract ideas. The usage of apostrophe can be found in literature and even in media. The usage of apostrophe is most evident within the Old Spice commercials. Isaiah Mustafa plays the role as the “man your man could smell like” in the commercial, who narrates and performs a simple monolog throughout. Mustafa can directly connect with the audience with the assistance of “breaking the fourth wall,” to guide their directions and appeal to their emotions. As a marketing technique, the motives of these Old Spice commercial is an attempt to appeal to the female audience whereas typically it is geared towards men.

He then addresses the audience and says, “Look down, back up, where are you? You’re on a boat with the man your man could smell like.” This scene change marks a change in the focus of the advertisement. Instead of focusing on how a man can smell like a “real man,” we find ourselves comparing what a “normal man” can provide for a woman as opposed to a “real man.” The scene goes on to show other various items associated with Isaiah. For example, Isaiah asks the women in the audience, “What’s in your hands? Now back to me, I have it, It’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you like. Look again the tickets are now diamonds!” This scene attempts to connect the use of Old Spice to success and fortune. It further tells women that if their “man” uses Old Spice, they (women) can have all the nice things that Isaiah is talking about. Not only does the commercial address women, but it also subliminally targets men. Although women are the intended audience, men who watch this commercial feel a need to use Old Spice body wash. By targeting women, the writer creates a sense of jealousy from the male audience. This jealousy creates a desire from men to be just like Isaiah because he can easily seduce women by his attractiveness and lavish possessions. This sense of jealousy becomes a very effective marketing tool, because the writer utilizes the primal urge of males to be an attractive partner to females. However, these commercials are also extremely

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 goal of these commercials are to show that the body wash can make the viewers man more powerful and dominant. Terry Crews has a body builder type physique, which is completely different from the smaller, more sensual look of Isaiah Mustafa. The “perfect man” is defined in these set of commercials by someone who is not afraid to take charge. It attracts women who want the man to play a real man’s role in the relationship instead of a wimp. It also implies that women want a humorous side to their men.

The Old Spice commercial persuade the viewers to purchasing the body wash. The adverstiments were targeting couples; however, their main focus was to persuade females more than males. The Old Spice commercial targets female because they would go shopping and buy fragrance and soap products. In the adverstiments, Old Spice man said “I ‘am the man your man could smell like” were speaking directly to the female audience. The Old Spice commercial wanted to encourage females to go out shopping and buy Old Spice body wash in order to have their

The first type fallacy noted in the advertisement was the bandwagon fallacy. Mustafa, captivates the viewers with his first line, “Hello, ladies, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me, but if he stopped using ladies scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he's me” (Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like). Mustafa utilizes his power as an influential personal to promote the product, regardless of his personal use of it or not. In essence, the product is famous by association – Mustafa is popular, thus, the product is popular. In addition, the commercial uses sexual appeal to entice its audience. The advertisement promotes the young and masculine NFL player as a sex symbol, making the product appear sexually attractive to women purchasing body care items for the men in their

Most ad campaigns “sell” ideas in conjunction with their products. This advertisement is no different. Terry Crews’ Old Spice commercials are legendary in the advertising field. Old Spice demonstrates a fantastic marketing campaign by making the viewer remember what is being advertised through the comedic randomness of the ads.

The ad is somewhat targeted towards women to buy their partner old spice in order for him to become a man. That is shown when the character states that “Your man can smell like a man if he uses Old Spice” (Old Spice). The sense of domination over the man watching the ad is obvious. The man in the ad is physically fit and shows that through his confidence when he tells the women, who are also watching, to “look back at me” (Old Spice). Following that up with a statement that separates the man in the ad from the man watching claiming that “he is not like me” (Old Spice). Thus leaving the women watching in a desperate state to make their man like the man in the ad. After

In two thousand eleven, an American brand of male grooming products named “Old Spice,” released a series of advertisements that were part of its “Scent Vacation” campaign. In one specific advertisement, Isaiah Mustafa (main character in Old Spice advertisements), is pictured shirtless in a medium shot displaying the deodorant near his abdomen with the expression, “Become one of the freshest smelling places on Earth” at the bottom of the advertisement. That expression serves as an invitation, not just to a particular type of men, but to all those who are viewing the image. We are