Identifying rhetoric and its usage in real life seemed like a tricky task at first, but once I opened my eyes to the hundreds or maybe thousands of advertisements that I see everyday, I started to understand the impact that rhetoric has on me. The target of these advertisements is mainly focusing on me as the consumer, and whether I’m scrolling on my Instagram feed, watching videos on YouTube, or even walking down my dorm hallway, I’m constantly bombarded with ads that are trying to catch my eye. In regards to catching one’s attention, rhetoric is not only used to draw an audience in but also to persuade them and keep them interested. One company in particular that uses rhetoric heavily to persuade their audience is Old Spice. The product that they are trying to sell may just be a men’s deodorant, but these commercials use a bombastic tone with pompous visuals to portray the “manliness” of Old Spice in a humorous way. The ad “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” is no different as the main character is presented to be better than the average man because he uses Old Spice, compared to another man that uses “lady-scented body wash.” This claim is supported by the commonplace that men that use floral or “woman-like” body washes appear less masculine because of their choice in product. Later in the advertisement the main character is on a boat in the middle of the ocean and is shown holding “two tickets to that thing you love” which seconds later, turns into diamonds. This example refers to the audience of women and the commonplace idea that women love gifts and diamonds, in particular. The inclusion of this serves to deepen the idea that men who wear Old Spice are perfectly romantic, masculine, and can satisfy any woman’s needs.
3 thoughts on “Analyzing Advertisements”
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I really like this idea and how it is something so simple like deodorant can open a whole can of worms and go up for debate. This also is interesting because of being on the side of the consumer and women and how you personally can think of this and what you think about men in this instance.
Old Spice is the perfect example of a company that uses gender stereotypes to find common ground in society. I completely agree with your interpretation regarding the purpose for that strategy.
I really like that you used Old Spice as your example because it not only incorporates gender stereotypes but gender stereotypes that pertain to men — most of the advertisements that I see play off of female stereotypes. I think it’s interesting that companies try to convince potential customers into buying their product by persuading them to conform to some sort of societal mold, or in this case, the “manly man.”