Old Spice: The Ultimate Man DeVry University OLD SPICE: The Ultimate Man The main objective when a company produces a commercial is to get their product to sell. Many different methods are used to persuade the targeted audience to buy a product. Old Spice is a company for men’s hygienic products that has created a line of men’s body wash that has an appealing advertising campaign. The commercials are implying that if a man uses the product then he will look like the Old Spice man. Not only do the commercials capture the men’s attention but it also grabs the women’s attention by giving the image of what a man should smell like and by creating a sexual theme that attracts attention.
The world has become more accepting to homosexuals because of advertisements like these. I wonder if a homosexual male would be turned on by these pictures. When a man sees a woman we first judge looks, examining it from a homosexual’s point of view, it makes sense that they would be turned on at first glance. Bordo’s example in “Male Decorativeness in Cultural Perspective” brings light to femininity in dressing style as well as masculinity. She uses Michael Jordan as an example of his masculinity in sports and femininity in dressing style.
In “Beauty (Re) discovers the Male Body” Bordo discusses how and where one is positioned, as the subject or object, and in the moment of vision. In the section, “Rocks and Leaners”, Bordo presents an argument that the gaze and position of men in advertising give off a message of masculinity. She describes the gaze, and how it can show dominance. The male models are the objects in the advertisement and meant to create a certain reaction depending upon there position. There is the “face up, face down, and stare down” (145).
Smith states in her article, “Unlike the anorexic or boyish-looking models in most magazines, wearing clothes that fit them like sacks, the typical VS model reveals her curves in undergarments or clothes that typically mold to the body, a button or two discretely undone, a thumb perhaps tucked into her bikini bottom or jeans—as if to ask, “Wouldn’t you like to take this off?” The second and third assumption goes hand in hand which is a women’s self worth and how a man sees that woman. VS makes their marketing ads appeal to women by saying to women that if they don’t look like that then they aren’t sexy. Women feel
Bordo’s sense of humor and easy to relate style of writing makes her essay an interesting read and opens up the idea that men are starting to deal with being in the “sexual spotlight.” After reading this essay, I agree with Bordo’s argument. Men are entering a world of sexual critique. It is different than what we are accoustomed to. The introduction of men into a world of sexual critique and a constant gaze of desire from the opposite sex and, more importantly, the same sex, brought about many different evaluations and opinions. According to Bordo’s claims made in the essay, a man’s worth and pride are challenged with accusations that “real” men do not choose clothing that will enhance their appearance, do not look in a mirror, nor are they even supposed to know what a mirror looks like because each of these things would – stereotypically, of course – immediately turn a man gay.
In “Male Body Image in America,” Luciano argues that men are becoming more feminine because of their looks “We are clearly witnessing the evolution of an obsession with body image, especially among middle class me, and a corresponding male appropriation of, in the words of feminist.” She argues that men are not men, because they are starting to care more about their looks just as women do With that in mind, what would women find appealing or even worth buying in a advertisement for weight-loss? Does this product burn just fat? The advertisement shows a customer before and after picture that has used Hydroxycut. To the right or her photo is her testimonial “I would choose Hydroxycut over and other weight loss product on the market today, I’ve experienced the result. Now I feel beautiful and fabulous!” This statement leads me to think if she has ever tried any other weight loss supplement.
Advertising has now reached the point where companies are no longer afraid to exploit women to sell their products. Advertising has associated itself with sexism, often discrimination against women; making them an object inferior to men. The women presented in advertising are often stereotypical in that that have the desired figure, look and attitudes expected by a male target audience. Two advertisements that demonstrate these representations of women are the print advertisement LYNX Jet “Get-on, Get-off” and the TV advertisement LYNX Pulse “The girls are ready”. The LYNX campaign relies heavily on the AIDA principle, which aims first to attract the male target audience attention, hold their interest to create a desire for the product which in-turn persuades the intended to purchase LYNX products.
Ad’s like these enjoy displaying sexual imagery to model their design clothing. Abercrombie and Fitch does a great job in producing stunning imagery for their clothing line. From the small description of the ad, it’s clear that the main selling point of Abercrombie and Fitch is their sex appeal. The ad is basically indicating that if you are a male, if you were to buy these jeans you will look like the guy in the ad. And if you’re a female, if you were to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch you can find a male that looks just like the one in the ad.
Weiss uses the "Old Spice Guy" a ad to show that women are more inclined to buy body wash for their husbands that smells manly. The consumers want their husbands to smell manly and to be masculine, just like the ad had suggested. The Old Spice Guy was intentionally put in the ad as a marketing strategy to get female consumers' attention. Likewise, Mernassi's conversation with the saleslady at the department store proves that TV ads and the magazines influence our physical appearance. In conversation with Mernassi, the saleslady derisively told Mernassi, " The norm is everywhere....
Explain how the message is related to diversity, who is different and from whom are they different? The Axe Effect http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tWZB7OUSU Sex - almost the most powerful tool used in today’s media to sell sell sell. Also, sex is the principle feature in the Axe Effect - Billions TV commercial for men’s deodorant. This short clip, exaggerates billions’ of women’s attraction towards a man. In less than a minute, the ‘Axe Effect’ teaches its male market the compulsive attraction women will have towards them, when using their product.