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Matthew Jacobs

Dr. Arini

English-101

09/17/2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjEK7qQKRDY

Dr. Squatch

Dr. Squatch’s Natural Soap for Men commercial was published May 21, 2018 by Dr.

Squatch Soap Company. This commercial uses a wide variety of marketing tactics in order to

convince the viewer that Dr. Squatch is the best soap around. This commercial, like the product,

is targeted at men who want to be naturally manly. Commercials that use natural manliness as its

selling point are reminiscent of the 2010 Old Spice commercials. This style of commercial was

proven to be very effective, having millions of views. The use of nature and natural ingredients is

part of a new trend to use only natural products.

Immediately as the commercial starts, the lead actor opens with “Listen up the soap you

shower with is sh*t. You probably haven’t even questioned what bar of soap you lather up with.

Let’s face it. Most guys don’t.” Leading the viewer to believe that Dr. Squatch has a solution to a

problem they didn’t even know they had ensures the viewer won’t look away or skip the

advertisement. The tactic of challenging the way the viewer showers and then excusing their

“mistake” by offering them a solution through the product is a powerful combination of pathos

and ethos. The commercial makes the viewers self-conscious about the soap they use and

reinforces this idea by relating the viewers to other people who make the same mistake.
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Throughout the duration of the commercial, two lead characters are introduced, and two

background supporting characters are briefly on screen. The two leads represent a man who uses

Dr. Squatch soap and a man who doesn’t. The lead, who already uses the soap, is confident and

talks directly to the camera while the man who doesn’t use Dr. Squatch soap is often times the

butt of a joke and is shown as less manly. The contrast between the two lead characters is to

demonstrate the difference between men who do and don’t use Dr. Squatch soap. The lead

character who uses Dr. Squatch consistently acts in a specific manner. He always looks at the

camera, has good yet calm posture, smiles and smirks often, speaks continuously with little

pause, and is the biggest object in the frame at all times. After the second lead character showers

using Dr. Squatch soap, the two supporting characters are introduced as satisfied customers. The

supporting characters hold the same confident demeanor and follow the same rules and

mannerisms as the primary lead character. The tactic of contrasting the characters makes Dr.

Squatch soap more desirable by giving negative traits to the non-using lead and positive traits to

the lead who uses the soap.

The word choice used in the commercial Dr. Squatch Natural Soap for Men is strong and

supportive to the message. When Dr. Squatch soap is described, only strong positive words are

used like “cold-pressed, hand-cut, natural, nourishing, healthier, (dare I say) soft, bliss, woodsy,

gold, smooth, lather, and exfoliating.” Non-Squatch soap and its users are described with words

like “dry, empty sad balls, mommy’s little helper, wrong, big soap, chemical, depression, liver

damage, cancer, low sperm count, dry skin.” This strong word choice and phrasing lifts up Dr.

Squatch in the eyes of the viewer and puts down any other generic soap brand. By relating

normal soap to harmful substances the viewer dislikes, they are encouraged to change the brand
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of soap they use. All this information is supported by a brief history lesson given by the lead

actor.

Half-way into the commercial, there is a thirty second history lesson on soap. This lesson

primary uses facts about soap during the first World War and the chemicals used to make soap.

The lesson also speaks of the harmful chemicals used in soap. This mini lesson is entirely

factual. Comedy is used to entertain the view while the lead actor uses long and confusing

names for chemicals. The goal of the lesson is to make the viewer distrust other soap brands. The

comedy along with the facts makes the lesson more memorable. Combining logos and pathos in

this way is very effective in convincing any viewer of the harmfulness of “big soap.”

Using “real” customers is a common advertising tactic that most are familiar with at this

point. This tactic is used in the Dr. Squatch commercial with the two supporting characters. The

lead actor introduces the customers, and they support the lead’s past claims by using similar

wording and phrasing while describing Dr. Squatch soap. The commercial is once again comedic

by having the customers step out from behind a tree and bush in bath towels. The customers are

also diversified in both race and body type to help relate to a broader audience.

The visual design of the sets and characters is telling of who the target audience is. The

opening shot is a backdrop of a shower curtain that opens up into the woods. This transition is

perfect for a product that uses all-natural ingredients. The rest of the commercial takes place in a

beautiful forest. The main character, played by James Schrader, is a white guy with a beard and

long blond hair.(Schrader) His appearance is attuned to the stereotypes of hippies and hipsters.

From this information we can assume the main target demographic are these two groups. The

other characters either share features with the main character or show diversity in race and body
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type. This was done to relate to viewers who do not fall under the initial hippie or hipster

stereotypes.

Near the end of the commercial there is a segway into how to get one's own Dr. Squatch

soap. The lead character stands next to a mailbox stating “we ship it right to your door.” The ease

of having the product delivered to you is an additional enticement, possibly to make the viewer

forget the inconvenience of having to get new soap. He then goes on to say “with a hundred

percent satisfaction guarantee if it’s not the best bar of soap you’ve ever used. It’s on us”

furthering the theme of a confident manly man. Leaning to a separate camera shot on his left, the

lead character gestures to let the viewer in on a secret. “Tens of thousands of men already

subscribe.”(Dr. Squatch) This statement is a bandwagon of Dr. Squatch soap to reassure the

viewer that they are once again behind on this new trend much like at the very beginning of the

commercial. The portrayal of this information as a secret is intended to make the information

seem more exclusive.

This commercial uses several techniques to draw the viewer’s attention and convince

them to buy Dr. Squatch soap such as: replicating other successful business models, using strong

language and commercial hooks, a variety of characters to represent different races and body

types, utilizing facts and history, “real” customer reviews, beautiful and engaging set pieces, and

bandwagon. All these tactics use one or more of ethos, pathos, and logos. Dr. Squatch’s Natural

Soap for Men effectively uses all these marketing techniques to make an entertaining and

convincing commercial targeted at all-natural men.

Work Cited

http://jamesschrader.com/bio

Schrader, James. “James Schrader.” James Schrader, 2019, http://jamesschrader.com/.

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Dr. Squatch, Soap Co.

https://drsquatch.com/?campaignid=1710658982&adgroupid=64810019457&adid=3795000232

42&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_absBRD1ARIsAO4_D3sv5WNqDG72BojaQb6WxPbMunD2ymNcgrrol

BQx9jO93PTwdH44l7MaAs8hEALw_wcB