Topic: Find and embed a video clip in your blog post that highlights elements of persuasion and/or propaganda. Discuss the various elements with respect to the video. Is the video effective or ineffective?
When I saw the topic for the week, Old Spice was the first company I thought of. The commercials I have seen on TV for this product are always memorable for different reasons. This particular commercial caught my eye because of the humor. I couldn’t stop laughing the entire commercial which made me then stop are think about the different elements of persuasion.
Surprisingly enough, according to the New York Times Old Spice was having difficulty selling their product over a year ago. The idea of using body wash was “unmanly” to men. This particular campaign that they launched held purpose to change this idea and increase sales with their product. Sure enough, they were successful.
When analyzing this commercial, the direct audience is for females. The man in the commercial is illustrating the “ideal man” a woman would want. Playing into a factor of persuasion- audience analysis- Old Spice is targeting women to help sell their product. If a woman is convinced Old Spice smells attractive, then she would like it if her man chose to wear it. According to the New York Times, most women were buying the body wash their man was wearing. Vice versa, if a man believes wearing Old Spice will help him attract women he will end up buying the product as well.
Essentially, Old Spice is even appealing to the audience’s self interest. Since body wash is (or should be) something ever man owns, why not use this particular kind? A man can use any type of body wash, but Old Spice creates the image of being similar to
the “Old Spice man.” Based on the dialect of the commercial, the type of man pictured is what women want.
The clarity of the message plays into the effective persuasion as well. The commercial is short and brief and only addresses one thing- smelling good. With a simple message, the audience will more likely remember it. In addition, ending the commercial
with a question directed to the audience leaves the audience to decide on the purchase of the product.
In my opinion, I believe the commercial is effective. Why? One, it is a memorable commercial because of its brevity and humor. Two, showing that type of person (a man in shape and attractive) allows gains attention for a female audience! I know a number of
men that use this product, and after reading both of the articles below- I know for a fact the reason why is because of this type of advertising.
In the end, after the launch of this campaign the sales of Old Spice rocketed. #SUCCESS
Resources:
Old Spice’s own YouTube.com channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/OldSpice
Two articles on their success after the campaign
http://mashable.com/2010/07/27/old-spice-sales/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/business/media/16adco.html
As a man, I condone using old spice not only because of the commercials, but the product itself. I tried Old Spice once, and it had a bad stench. But going over the video, I agree that Old Spice commercials are focusing more on the female audience than the male audience because of the “ideal man” aspect. To me, the commercial are ineffective for men due to the product, but it’s somehow effective for women due to their taste of the right man.