Unversity of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

Samoya Jones

Foundation 1004- Introduction to Argument

Assignment: Critical Anaylsis of the TV Ad

The first Old Spice product in 1937 was a woman’s scent called Early
American Old Spice. The product was received well, and therefore
followed with Old Spice for men in 1938. The Old Spice
advertisement is entitled “ The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”. In
this advertisement well renowned actor and former American
footballer, Isaiah Amir Mustafa who played the role of a sexy man
who seems very confident in the Old Spice product. The
advertisement ibegins iwith ia ichiseled iman iin ia ibathroom
iwearing ia itowel iaddressing iall ifemales iin ihis itrademark ivoice
iwith ihis inow iiconic iline i“Hello iladies”. iHe ithen igoes iinto ia
imonologue iwhere ihe iasks ithem ito idraw icomparisons ibetween
itheir iman iand ihim iat ithat imoment. iThe imonologue icontinues
ias ihe idescribes ihow i“anything iis ipossible” iif itheir iman iwould
ijust iuse iOld iSpice ibody iwash. iAs ihe iis iexplaining ito ithem iall
ithese ipossibilities ihe imoves ifrom ithe ibathroom ito ia iboat iand
iconcludes ion ia ibeach iwhile isitting ion ia ihorse. iAll iof ithis iis
iaccomplished iby iour ienchanting ifriend iwith ino irests ior ipauses
iin ithe imonologue iand ionly ione ivery ibrief ibreak iof ieye
icontact iwith ithe icamera iwhen ihe ipetitions ithe iladies ito ilook
idown ithen iback iup. iDespite ibeing ifilled iwith iseemingly ia ilot,
imultiple iscene iand iwardrobe ichanges iincluded, iit iwas iall
icondensed iinto i33 iseconds iof ipure ipersuasion iand
ientertainment i.

The purpose of the advertisement is to persuade the targeted audience

to purchase Old Spice body wash which will help their men smell like
men. And if they are sufficiently persuaded they would purchase the
Old Spice body wash. Although itargeted ifor imen ithey ispecifically
iaddress i“ladies” iin ithe icommercial ito imake imen ifeel ilike ithis
iproduct iis ireally iwhat itheir iwomen iwant. Mustafa in the iOld
iSpice idelivered ihis ientire iaddress ito ithe iladies ialthough iwe iare
iall ifull iaware ithat ithe iproduct iis inot ifor ithem iat iall ibut ifor
ithe imen iin itheir ilives. iAlternatively ito iaddressing imen idirectly
ihe igoes ithe ilong iway iaround iand iworks ihis iangle ithrough ithe
iwomen iin ieach iof itheir ilives. iThis imethod ihas ievolved iand
ieven igone icompletely iopposite ito ithis iapproach.

It can be noticed that Aristotle’s Theory Of Persuasion was used.

Aristotle’s Theory of Persuasion comprises a combination of three
appeals: ethos, pathos and logos. Aristotle was of the view that
anyone seeking to persuade an audience should take into
consideration these three appeals. Ethos was used in the
advertisement by ichoosing isomeone ithat itypify icharacteristics iof
ibeing ia i“man”. iIn ithisiadvertisementithey iused iIsaiah iMustafa,
iwho isince ibeing ia iretired iprofessional iathlete ihad ithe
istereotypical iphysique iand iadditionally iwas ia ivery ismooth iyet
iquick italker. iThey inot ionly icentered itheir iethos iargument ion
the iactors ithey ihired ibut ithey iwould ialso i“attack” iother
icompanies ithat isold ithe isame iproduct iby istating ithat iif iyou
ibought itheir iproducts iyou iwould ismell ilike ia ilady inot ia iman.
iThis icombination iof ihaving ithis iunique ispokesman ion itheir
iadvertisement iroster ito ivalidate itheir iclaims ithat ithe iuse iof
iother iproducts ican imake ia iman ismell ilike ia ilady iis ian
ieffective iway ithey iused iAristotle’s i“Ethos” imode ifor
ipersuasion.

In iaddition ito iusing iethos ito iput idown iother iproduct, istating
ithat ithey iare ifor ipeople iwho iwant ito ismell ilike iladies ithey
icollectively iused iit ias ia ilogos iargument. iMaking ia i“logical”
icase ithat iif iyou iuse iany iother iproduct ithen iyou iwill ismell
ilike ia ilady iand, iin iessence icould ibe iat irisk iof iforfeiting iyour
“man icard”. iA isecondary ilogos iis ithe iappeal ito ithe
ientertainment iindustries i“sex isells” imantra. iFor iwhat iother
ireason ido imen icare iabout ismelling igood ithan ito iattract ia
ibeautiful iwoman iinto itheir ilives ior ito iremain iattractive ifor ithe
ione ialready ithere. \ When ipresented iwith ithe ioption ito ismell
ilike ione iof ithis imacho iman ior ialternatively iand ipotentially iof
ithe iopposite igender, iyou ifeel icompelled ito iget iwhat isomeone
ilike i iMustafa iuses iinstead iof ianother.
IFor ipathos ithey imainly iuse ihumor ito ilure ipeople iin. iThe
ihumor icomes ifrom ithe iridiculous inature iof ithe advertisement
iwith ithe istudly iactor imoving ifrom iplace ito iplace iwithout
ibreaking ieye icontact iand iending iup iin iand ior ion ithings ithat
iunexpectedly icome iout iof inowhere. iThere iis ialso ia islight itint
iof ishaming iin ithe iadvertisement, ias ican ibe ifound iin ijust iabout
iany iother iadvertisement ithat iyou iare iexposed ito iin ithe iworld.
iThis ishaming ipersonally imakes ime isecond iguess iwhat iI ismell
ilike ieach itime ithat iI iam iwith ior inear isomeone iand iif ithey iare
iput ioff ior iturned ion iby iwhat imy ibody iwash ismells ilike.

The Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs explains that the primary

motivation for consumers to buy grooming products is a result in their
“esteem”, in which the target audience is driven by concerns
regarding developing masculine identities and to be perceived as
attractive to the opposite sex, all in which would encourage the
consumer to seek products that would allow them to achieve their
desired image. ( Belch and Belch, 2012).

Old Spice also managed to establish a strong sense of brand loyalty

among its consumers through the “Response” campaign, by allowing
them to get personally invested in the brand through social media
interactions. A personal connection with Old Spice allowed its
consumers to fulfill Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs of Self-
Actualization which is the need for self-filfulment. (Belch and Belch,
2012)

The iMan iYour iMan iCould iSmell iLike iwas ian iingenious
imarketing icampaign idone iby ithe iOld iSpice iteam. iNot ionly
iwas iI iconvinced ithat iit iwas isomething ithat iI icould ipurchase
icomfortably iand iconfidently, ibut ithat iit iis ithe ipreference iover
ieverything ielse iout ithere. All-in-all ithis advertisement idid ian
iexcellent ijob iof ichanging ithe ipublic iperception iof itheir iproduct
iwhile ivery ieffectively iusing iAristotle’s imodes ifor ipersuasion.
iMaking ius ibelieve ithat iusing ianything ielse ican ibe idetrimental
ito imanhood iand ichances iwith ithe iladies.